Tag Archives: history

The Plots Against Hitler – Danny Orbach

Posted on April 28, 2017 by

You know the saying “The devil takes care of his own”? My deeply Catholic mother reminds me of that one a lot when I complain about the way God arranges things; there is, she says, another power at work in … Continue reading →

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Alexander Hamilton – Ron Chernow – Scott Brick

Posted on March 15, 2017 by

I feel compelled to state up front that I bought this audiobook in 2013, before the celebrated musical was much more than a twinkle in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s eye. And actually I can honestly say the musical wasn’t even on my … Continue reading →

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Worst. President. Ever. – Robert Strauss

Posted on March 13, 2017 by

Was James Buchanan the worst president ever? (I’m sorry – I refuse to copy the title’s punctuation.) Maybe he was. Maybe not. I’m not sure this author is persuasive enough to make me agree with him. Part of it is … Continue reading →

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Destiny of the Republic – Candice Millard – Paul Michael

Posted on October 28, 2016 by

If you look up “delusional” in the dictionary, there’s a full–page, full–color picture of Charles Guiteau. And if you look up “unfulfilled potential” in my personal dictionary, with this book James Garfield’s picture took the place of JFK’s. President James … Continue reading →

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The Worst Hard Time – Timothy Egan – Patrick Lawlor

Posted on July 5, 2016 by

I have a little history with both the author and the narrator of this audiobook. When I was looking for something awesome on which to spend the credit burning a hole in my pocket, I looked at my “five-star” shelf … Continue reading →

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The Witch of Lime Street – David Jaher

Posted on March 16, 2016 by

What a story. I knew some of the bare bones: Houdini’s deep attachment to his mother, and the failed attempts to hear from her after her death; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s extraordinary credulity for mediums and fairies. I did not … Continue reading →

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100 Million Years of Food – Stephen Le

Posted on February 7, 2016 by

One thought that kept recurring while reading 100 Million Years of Food was how thoroughly this all seems to put paid to the idea of “Intelligent Design”. Because my overall conclusion from all of this is, lord, these bodies are … Continue reading →

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A Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England – Ian Mortimer, Jonathan Keeble

Posted on January 15, 2012 by

Obviously, A Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England was a title calculated to gain my attention. The premise: a different take on presenting an overview of a period of time, using the format of a travel guide – something of … Continue reading →

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Pearl: The Poe Shadow

Posted on December 10, 2010 by

I loved The Dante Club (reviewed in July).  It was intelligent, and pure geeky fun, and I had a lovely time picking my way among the corpses in 19th century Boston.  So I jumped at the chance to take The … Continue reading →

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Librarything Early Reviewer book: Roma

Posted on September 5, 2010 by

Currently Stephen Saylor’s Roma, the Early Reviewer book I received a couple of weeks ago from Librarything, is my “work” book, and The Lions of Al-Rassan is my “home” book; saves having to schlep one volume back and forth and up … Continue reading →

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