Category: Books

A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism Book Review

Women have been the backbone of our culture since the beginning of time. It is only in the last few centuries that our contributions have been seen and respected.

A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism, by Caroline Moorehead, was published in 2019. It is the fourth book in the Resistance series. In 1943, Italy switched sides and joined the Allies. Among those who fought against the German and Italian fascists were many women (Jewish and non-Jewish). In the larger context, the participants were ordinary. They were not aristocrats, members of the 1%, working in the halls of power, etc. They just saw something wrong and did what they needed to do to correct it.

I truly enjoyed this book. These subjects did not wear capes, but they were superheroes nevertheless. They could have just gone about their business, hoping to survive the war. Instead, they took up a cause greater than themselves, some giving their lives for their country and their people.

They are a light unto the darkness and a reminder that not everyone follows along just because it is easy or convenient.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

A House in the Mountains: The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism is available wherever books are sold.

The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control Book Review

Dissent and disagreement are part of the day-to-day life of any functioning democracy. But where is the line between standard discourse and government interference?

The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control, by Jacob Siegel, was published last month. The author (who has been published in Tablet) asks whether the very label of “disinformation” is used to control the masses. Between our elected leaders and the tech companies, it appears to him that we are being controlled in ways we are either unaware of or choose to look away from.

This is another title that goes on the list “tried, but just couldn’t”. The author’s ideas never quite stuck with me and I had to move on.

Do I recommend it? No.

The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control is available wherever books are sold.

Lost: Amelia Earhart’s Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life Book Review

The mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart has fascinated America for nearly a century. Did she die in a plane crash? Or did they land and then die of starvation or in a Japanese POW camp?

Author Rachel Hartigan addresses this question in the new non-fiction book, Lost: Amelia Earhart’s Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life. It was published earlier this year. Hartigan, a reporter for National Geographic, tells a dual tale. The first is Earhart’s biography. The second details the explorations to finally answer the question of her fate, and the hope of finding either the remains of her plane and/or the bodies of those aboard.

I truly enjoyed this book. The author shows her as more than an American icon. She talks about her tumultuous childhood, her unconventional adulthood, and the choices she made to become Amelia Earhart.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Lost: Amelia Earhart’s Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life is available wherever books are sold.

Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies Book Review

Money can buy a lot of things. But can it buy happiness? Not always.

Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies, by Laura Thompson, was published in 2022. The book follows the lives of six women. They were born into wealth that many of us can only imagine. Materially, they wanted for nothing. But their lives were difficult. Several were forced into unhappy marriages, or later discovered that their husbands were not always on the up and up. Others broke out of their golden cages and found a life outside of what was expected.

I enjoyed this book. The author allows each subject to go beyond the “poor little rich girl” stereotype. What I took away from it is that in the end, their status was actually a hindrance and not a help.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies is available wherever books are sold.

Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment Book Review

For better or worse, the entertainment of a period reflects the culture and values of the audience, the team behind the scenes, and the performers.

Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment was published earlier this year. Written by Rhae Lynn Barnes, the book explores the history of blackface in America. It is a comprehensive exploration of this character type and how it became part of the pop culture landscape for several generations. She also talks about the slow fade from acceptance to general disapproval in the last half of the 20th century.

The most interesting fact (which makes a lot of sense) is that both Jewish Americans and Japanese Americans (specifically in the internment camps) both put on blackface. Looking back, it is easy to see how they were trying to show how “American” they were while discrediting their darker-skinned neighbors.

Do I recommend it? Yes. It is a must read.

Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment is available wherever books are sold.

Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria Book Review

Rebelling against one’s community is a common experience. Doing the same as a female in a male-led religious theocracy can be empowering. But it can also be dangerous.

Journalist Loubna Mrie tells her story in the new memoir Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria. It was published earlier this year. Born into a Syrian Alawite family, she was raised to revere then-President Hafez al-Assad. Mrie also grew up in a home where her father played hot and cold, and a mother who tried to keep her husband happy.

Joining the Arab Spring in 2011, she believed in the right of the Syrian people to participate in a democracy and have their rights respected as citizens. Ultimately rejected by her family and heartbroken by the murder of her maternal parent, Mrie chose to leave the nation of her birth and seek a new life in the West.

I enjoyed this book. The chances that Mrie took could have ended in jail, or worse. She could have remained silent in an attempt to just get through it all. Instead, she spoke up and did what she felt was right. Even when that required hard sacrifices.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria is available wherever books are sold.

It Girl Book Review

Every decade/ generation has its icons.

It Girl, by Allison Pataki, was published earlier this year.

The book is based on the story of Evelyn Nesbit. In New York City in the early 20th century, Evelyn Talbot starts as a shop girl, working to provide for her family. When she gets an offer to model, she accepts the position. This decision shoots her into the pop culture atmosphere of the era. Becoming the “Gibson Girl“, Evelyn eventually becomes the center of a public love triangle and the “crime of the century“. She will learn that not all that glitters is gold and that being in the spotlight has major downfalls.

I really wanted to like this book. I usually enjoy stories where a person who has a certain reputation has the opportunity (even if it is in fiction) to be seen in a different light. The problem is that I was immediately bored and had no choice but to move on.

Do I recommend it? No.

It Girl is available wherever books are sold.

The Fourth Princess Book Review

Fate has a way of revealing the secrets we would prefer to remain hidden.

The Fourth Princess, by Janie Chang, was published earlier this year. In 1911, the universe brings two very different women together in Shanghai. Lisan Liu is an orphan who has just been hired as a secretary for American socialite Caroline Stanton. She has moved from the States for her husband’s job.

The manor, which she calls home, is supposedly haunted. The previous owner took his life, and there are rumors that the spirit of a woman in red has been seen around the property. When the previously undisclosed information is unearthed, both Lisan and Caroline must confront the hard truths that will upend everything they have known and built.

This book is amazing. Though Lisan and Caroline appear to have nothing in common, their pasts are quite similar. I loved that the ending came completely out of left field, leaving me shocked and wanting more.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Fourth Princess is available wherever books are sold.

Wifey Book Review

Sometimes, when we think we have it all, it still does not feel right.

Wifey, by Judy Blume, was originally published in the late 1970s and re-released in 2005. According to the rules of her world, Sandy Pressman has everything. She is a suburban New Jersey housewife who has a happy (if not slightly dull) marriage and healthy children. But even with all of that, something is still off.

The first spark of excitement comes from seeing a naked man on a motorcycle.

Wifey feels like an adult extension of her YA novels. I really wanted like this book. Unfortunately, I just could not get into it and had to move on.

Do I recommend it? No.

Wifey is available wherever books are sold.

Society Women Book Review

Secrets have a way of revealing themselves at the wrong time and place.

Society Women, by Adriane Leigh, was published last year. Ellie has it all. She works at the family firm, lives in a cushy apartment overlooking to Central Park, and is married to a husband who is both attractive and working constantly. Though materially, she has everything, she is unhappy. The loss of her mother at a young age has only added to her trauma.

Ellie’s life seems to improve when she is invited to an elite women’s club known as “The Society.” At first, it seems like it is the answer to her prayers. But she quickly discovers that there is a “The Stepford Wives” quality to this group that is dangerous and threatens everything she knows.

I really wanted to like Society Women. It had so much potential. But I could not get past the first chapter and had no choice but to move on.

Do I recommend Society Women? No.

Society Women is available wherever books are sold.

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