Poetry at its finest. It's haunting - both the poetry and the subject matter. There's a lot of rough language and anger in the book so it's somewhat hard to listen too, but it's definitely worth while.
This is from well before Obama was president, however the book certainly reads like he was planning on a run. I enjoyed the book for the most part. However he (as well as any other politician) seemed to take jabs at Bush (or anyone from an opposing party) from time to time - no more than he did when he was running but my ideal would be making a case for yourself without pushing anyone or their ideals else down. Must be harder than it sounds.
This was fascinating. The professor was clear and understandable making the lectures well worth while. I learned much about the crusades and more about the early jewish expulsions and harassments. For the most part the Great Courses series has been very good.
Fiction (it says historical fiction) about the making of princess Elizabeth's wedding gown. I actually liked it more than I thought I would considering the subject matter seems somewhat trite. Recommendable.
Manifest Destiny was not just a 19th century thought. The Spanish moving through South America and up through Mexico was horrendous. It's sad to think what was lost through this quest for gold and land. The book was informative but read pretty much like a war book - lots of blood and gore. There are better books out there so unless you're looking for this particular subject matter I'd move on.
Historical fiction concerning the War of the Roses (mid 1400's right / pre Tudor era). It was good but long and I must admit several times I felt it was the book that would never end. However, if you know who these people are and how they fit into history (her son becomes King of England - actually two of her sons but Richard's rule is not looked upon kindly, and then her granddaughter marries Henry VII and thus reunites the Lancastrian and York lines ending the fight for the crown) it's pretty interesting.
Considering the subject matter and my run in with another book on the same subject matter I was a bit concerned about this read. However this book was not filled with emotional hate but rather the desire to inform and instruct. I was hoping for more of what we can do about it in the epilogue but maybe we just don't know what to do except be aware and stop. Informative and recommendable.
Dispels the myth that all refugees are just extremely happy to be in America and start their lives over. Also discusses the refugee process and its problems. An eye opening book. Very recommendable.
I liked that this book focused not only on TR and Taft but also the birth of the political media as we know it. Highly interesting and well done. Also, Taft: I'm a fan. Even feel like I understand the man a little. Half way through the book I had the thought that he acts like someone born in September; sure enough, he was. Interesting how personality traits seem to follow monthly patterns.
This was more Chic Lit than Historical Fiction. Having said that, it was okay - even good if that genre is what you're looking for. It also featured the WASPs so there was much on that. Very feministic. Not my favorite but it worked for my nights of insomnia.
Don actually suggested I read this one. It was interesting and somewhat appalling. Several stories and examples were almost to crazy to be real but there you go. Very recommendable.
I wanted this to be good. I like Michener and I like Poland. However, this read somewhat tedious with each war and Poland constantly changing boarders... and the names and characters were easily forgettable and hard to follow. I was hoping for better.Very sad.
I was a little concerned about this one from the start: Challenger mission AND dysfunctional family...? Seems too heavy. But I'm glad I jumped in. The main characters were well done and very relatable although the parents were a nightmare. But good prevailed at the end. Highly recommendable junior fiction - although parents may want to read it first just in case. For example, Rebekah won't be reading this for some time.
This downloaded to my phone at 32 hours. I must admit I balked: 32 hours about anything is hard but this, considering Tecumseh was a Native American warrior, would not be easy reading. And so I looked up some of the reviews in the hopes they would convince me off the fence - to read or not too read. One review stated it was historical fiction not a biography. I read it anyway. I totally should have listened. I don't feel like I know much more about Tecumseh than I did at the start. Most of the book was horrible wars between the English / Americans and the Native Americans, drawn out to the extreme to emphasize how horrible and savage the whole thing was when the reader probably got the picture pages ago. Not recommendable.
It was good, then it wasn't. I admit I increased the speed at the end. There are some authors that are skilled enough to keep the reader interested without having to pull tears out of them by poking them in the eye. To me, this author was not. It's based on a true story but the way the love story was handled... ugh. And unfortunately I didn't even feel like I bonded at all with the main character, or any of the characters. To cliche.
The clip on GoodReads was somewhat misleading, however even after I discovered what this was really I decided to continue on. It had some good moments. This is my second of Rebecca Stead's middle grade fiction. Have to admit I'm not a big fan of her works. There are better authors out there.
