non-fiction
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Reviewed: “The Nine” by Gwen Strauss
I have a hard time review non-fiction books sometimes, because it always seems like a disservice to the people the book is about. This is especially true with the story of Helene, Nicole, Jacky, Zaza, Lon, Guigui, Zinka, Mena, and Josee. These nine women formed a friendship in a Nazi concentration camp of all places.… Continue reading
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“Riding into Battle: Canadian Cyclists in the Great War” by Ted Glenn
The Great War, the War to End All Wars, World War I… whatever you like to call it (especially since it was ‘great, definitely did not prevent any future wars at all, and was followed by another world war not a full quarter century later) often seems ignored compared to World War II. You can… Continue reading
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“Seven Sovereign Queens” by Geoffrey Trease
This book got me out of a reading slump, one filled with ‘meh’ quality books that were making me want to watch Netflix instead of read. That might seem strange, since Seven Sovereign Queens was originally published in 1968 and includes seven brief biographies of seven women who ruled nations no more recently than 1796. I’ll take… Continue reading
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“Ten Days in a Mad-House” by Nellie Bly
I think I was in fifth grade when I first learned about Nellie Bly, thanks to an assignment to write a biography of someone from history. As I remember, I thought about Laura Ingalls Wilder but then I saw a book in the library about how Nellie Bly went around the world in 72 days,… Continue reading
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spoiler alert: The Founding Fathers hated each other…
So… “Hamilton” is a thing. You can’t get much more all-American than George Washington. Jefferson created the basis for the laws we still follow today. And there are a handful of other Founding Fathers we learn about in elementary school, and then probably forget unless somebody asks us “who is on the $1 bill?” or… Continue reading
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“Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History” by Bill Schutt
I don’t remember exactly why seeing Bill Schutt’s CANNIBALISM: A PERFECTLY NATURAL HISTORY on NetGalley made me think “ooh, I need to read that book” but I requested it. I got it. I added it to my To Be Read list. And I didn’t read it. But then… I decided to do a reading challenge… Continue reading
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Reviewed: “A Common Struggle” by Patrick J. Kennedy & Stephen Fried
I have read a lot of books on the Kennedy family, probably too many. Few Kennedys have written books so there was an immediate appeal with A Common Struggle when it was released and Patrick Kennedy did interviews for it on “60 Minutes” and in other places. I can admit I wanted to read it… Continue reading
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Reviewed: “Harem: The World Behind the Veil” by Alev Lytle Croutier
I think everybody is a little bit fascinated by harems. Hollywood and the arts have made it so. That’s why I wanted to read Alev Lytle Croutier’s HAREM: THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL. I wanted to know some truth about it and Croutier’s work was advertised to tell me just that. Not being well-versed in… Continue reading
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Reviewed: “Interrogating Ellie” by Julian Gray
Interrogating Ellie is Julian Gray’s fictionalized account of the real life of Ellie Maurer – who becomes Ellie Bauer for the book, a British woman who lived in Austria for the duration of World War II. Gray combines Ellie’s real life and the people she knew, based on her interrogation files, with other colorful characters… Continue reading
About Me
An English diarist and naval administrator. I served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament. I had no maritime experience, but I rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and King James II through patronage, diligence, and my talent for administration.
Adventures With Words 