Wake uses archival records to piece together the untold story of female-led slave rebellions and revolts. However, it is also a memoir of the author’s difficulty in obtaining the information. Despite having a Ph.D. in history, she runs right into the wall labeled the victors write the history. And theseContinue Reading
Press Reset is a deep dive into the video game industry. Specifically, the book questions “why is it so hard to maintain job security in the video game industry?” I always assumed that it was the friction between the finance people trying to make money for their investors vs. theContinue Reading
I loved Fun Home by this author, so I snatched up The Secret to Superhuman Strength posthaste without reading the book synopsis. Imagine my disappointment when I realized it was about my arch nemesis, exercise. But it is actually a look at how exercise fads have changed over the yearsContinue Reading
Autopsy describes “Life in the trenches with a forensic pathologist in Africa”. It is surprisingly boring. However, I can see its usefulness to mystery writers. The author describes both the best and the worst ways to die. There are also some ways that I had never heard about before. BellyContinue Reading
At its heart, What Unites Us is a memoir of an elderly white man’s life from the casual racism of his youth to the Trump administration’s perceived nationalism. It also attempts to explain what is causing our national chaos and how we can, and should, move forward toward a kinder,Continue Reading
Russell Shorto, the author, is not to be confused with his grandfather, Russell Shorto, the Smalltime Mafioso who was the No. 2 man in the small steel mill town of Johnstown between 1946 through 1960. This is the elder Shorto’s story. But more interesting, it is also the story ofContinue Reading
Love Her Madly is (a) a famous Doors’ song, (b) the title of a new book about The Doors’ front man Jim Morrison, (c) the feeling of the book’s author towards Jim’s girlfriend Mary, or (d) all of the above. The answer is, of course, d. While Wikipedia may notContinue Reading
Bob Gruen has hobnobbed with anyone who is anyone in rock and roll. Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, The Who, The Ramones and Elton John. Even John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Bob has photographed them all but also hung around them backstage. This gives the autobiography a unique perspective from theContinue Reading
An interesting, though somewhat disorganized, look into the world’s illegal drug culture. Dopeworld is the author’s personal experience with being a drug dealer in England. It is also a worldwide history of the gangs who profited by transporting and selling drugs for the last 50 years. Finally, the author interviewsContinue Reading
Remain in Love is an extremely detailed memoir, almost an autobiography of the drummer for Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club. Beginning at the beginning, the book starts with the author’s birth. Then it backtracks to his parent’s meeting for the first time. In fact, it takes quite awhileContinue Reading
Craigslist Confessional has been an ad, a blog, even a newspaper column, and now it’s a book. Every story answers the question, “Tell me about yourself.” What secret would you tell if you could speak with complete anonymity and without stigma? The forty stories here tell tales of love, regret,Continue Reading
Sharing a House with the Never-ending Man is an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at a Japanese company from an American’s perspective. It is not about the personalities at Studio Ghibli or where Miyazaki gets his ideas for the movies. It is interesting to see cultural differences explained so clearly. I alsoContinue Reading
Coming to American after the fall of Saigon, two-year-old Phuc Tran didn’t know the difficult path still ahead of him. For being the only Vietnamese, heck the only Asian, family in small town America, he was bound to stand out. Sigh, Gone is his tale of how he found hisContinue Reading
World War began with a bomb. When Pearl Harbor was hit by Japanese bombs from above, it forced the United States to join both the German and the Japanese fronts. It also inspired American men, and women, to do their patriotic duty by serving in the military. Over a thousandContinue Reading
Plunk! You have woke up in a war zone! Just a few days ago you were a pink-clad USC sorority girl. Now you are in an unnamed desert madhouse working as the most Unexpected Spy. Get a bird’s eye view of what it’s like to be one of only threeContinue Reading
In 1950 at age six, Marvin Hamlisch was the youngest student to be accepted to Juilliard, the famous New York City music school. He auditioned with a then-modern pop song, Goodnight Irene, instead of the usual classical music selection. Marvin was the American son of Jewish Austrian immigrants forced outContinue Reading