If you are interested in the behind the scenes stories of the making of some of your favorite films from the 1980s, this book may be for you! I have the Audible version, and it was a good one to listen to on my commute to and from work. I was born in 1988, so I am familiar with many of the cult classic movies from the 1980s. The Breakfast Club is one of my favorites, along with Dead Poets Society. I thought this book was entertaining.

 

This is a wonderfully researched and easy to follow history of the opium trade. I wish I would have had this book a while back when I was writing a paper about opium in China. 

 This is the personal memoir of David Crow, who recounts his life on a Navajo Reservation. Life on a reservation is hard enough without living in a home filled with abuse and lies. I cannot imagine how hard that life is on a child. I am really proud of the author of this book for making good choices to make a better life for himself. It is not an easy thing to do, especially when you are set up for failure from the word go. I enjoyed reading along on this journey.

I bought this book for the sole purpose of supporting Indigenous artists and authors. I bought several books like this after listening to the Kuper Island podcast (available on Spotify, highly recommend). The stereotype is perpetrated throughout North America that Indigenous people, particularly men, are abusive drunks. I think it is extremely, extremely important for people to understand that infrastructure on reservations is subpar at best. These reservations are food deserts, and real deserts. This land was set aside because it was undesirable land for "undesirable" people. Education and medical care is abysmal. The government set Indigenous people up to suffer and keep success out of reach for so many. It is incredibly hard for people who have generational trauma, generational abuse, and generational addiction issues to escape this cycle. On top of that, Indigenous women go missing at an alarming rate and find themselves the victims of sexual crimes in higher numbers than white counterparts. Please keep this in mind, especially in our current disgusting and hate filled climate. Indigenous people are human beings who have been the victims of cultural genocide, sex crimes, murder, and racism. It is disgusting that Indigenous people are still being treated like this in 2025 when people should know how to be decent human beings. 

 This book discusses the partition of India into India and Pakistan. This division is outlined in the Indian Independance Act of 1947, which dissolved the British Raj. British colonial forces occupied and controlled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 until the dissolution in 1947. While occupied by the British, India faced several serious disasters. Famines occurred with great frequency, resulting in the starvation deaths of many. There was a cholera epidemic, a bubonic plague outbreak, malaria, sexually transmitted infections and diseases, and a staggering issue with leprosy. British officials attempted to implement many public health and infrastructure programs to reduce the impacts of disease. There were major economic impacts, which resulted in famine, including high taxes and over consumption of resources. Women were abducted and raped, many were forced into sex work, and were terrified of returning home to be outcast by their families. People went missing during the move from India to Pakistan (or vice versa). Some people believe that none of these atrocities would have occurred without British intervention into a place they did not belong, while others say that they helped the continent so much with infrastructure and other public works. One of the major players in the partition was Lord Mountbatten, a close family member of the British Royal family.

(As a side note, I can tell you for free I would have hated this man [Mountbatten] soundly had I known him in real life.)

AT ANY RATE: This book gave a good look into the last remaining days of the British Raj in India. It was interesting to look at the decisions that were made. People in government or those that rule other people like to say that they are "for the people" but they are for their pockets and their egos most of the time. There are plenty of strong indicators of that very thing in this particular situation. The book provided decent research and was not boring. It was easy to follow and educational. 

 This book is free to listen to on Audible Plus. I thought it was a cute and informative behind the scenes look at some of the most famous art pieces that we all know and love. Sometimes, stores behind works of art are not known or thought about, and it was nice to consider that. 

 The Louvre began life as a construction to protect the city from their English neighbors. Multiple monarchs expanded the structure and remodeled it to suit their needs, turning it into the Louvre Palace. Unfortunately, construction slowed after the royal residence was moved to Versailles, though it was used to house artists under royal patronage after that. The Louvre became a museum during the French Revolution, where it has remained a home for beautiful and priceless works of art. This book covers the entire history of the Louvre through the modern era. I thought the research was well done. It was also free to listen to on Audible Plus, which I loved. 

 Alice Hamilton was born in New York in 1869. She attended Miss Porter's Finishing School for Young Ladies and then studied science with a high school teacher in Fort Wayne and anatomy at Fort Wayne College of Medicine for a year before enrolling at the University of Michigan Medical School in 1892. In 1895, she studied bacteriology. Hamilton was a tireless worker in industrial hygiene and safety. Her findings compelled lawmakers to pass laws that promoted safety for both workers and the public at large. After her death in 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act to improve workplace safety in the United States.

I found the content of this book on lead poisoning to be particularly interesting. I was just discussing with a coworker the other day about an area of the city we live in being a former EPA Superfund site due to lead and other contamination from a foundry that was formerly located there. There are limits to the amount of fish you can consume per year from our river (we sit between nuclear power plants and downriver from others) due to heavy metals. I didn't realize that this book would discuss lead poisoning, it was just next on my list of unread Audible books. It had a tremendous amount of information about lead and other elements of industrial manufacturing. I thought this was a really wonderful and educational book. 

 Brooke Astor was a writer and philanthropist who was married to William Vincent Astor. The pair were married in 1953. The marriage was not a great one by any means. Brooke was an interesting person, as this book outlines, and enjoyed the arts. Her later life was marred with elder abuse and other unfortunate ne'er do wells. She died in 2007, aged 105.

This is the second book that I have read about Brooke Astor, and I preferred the previous one to this one. The research was good, the writing was good, the story was good. I also happen to like this author. If you are looking for a solid book about Brooke Astor, this is a good one to consider picking up. Also, Brooke Astor is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, if any of you fellow necrotoursists are interested in that. 

 Seinfeld was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The show spanned nine seasons, with a total of 180 episodes. The main cast was comprised of Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry), Jason Alexander (George), Michael Richards (Kramer), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine). The show was a sitcom about regular mundane life in New York between this group of friends. Many of the episodes were based on things that happened to cast and crew members in real life.

This book covers the creation of the show, as well as the legacy it left on culture in the United States. Many catchphrases and sayings came from this show. This show is still a favorite for many people. I personally love this show, despite some of it's more socially unacceptable hot takes and the controversy surrounding some of the cast members. I remember watching this as a kid because it came on around the time that my Mom's favorite show did (ER) and my favorite show at the time (The Simpsons). This is still a show I can put on for background noise and still laugh to when I am having a bad day. I also have Seinfeld Monopoly that we play during some game nights at home. This was a neat book that dove into the history of the show, which I liked. It was also free to listen to on Audible Plus, which I liked even more. 

 This is the personal memoir of someone in the food service industry. While there are many funny stories and anecdotes, it left me extraordinarily relieved that I do not work in food service. I always try to make sure I leave good tips and am as polite as possible since they are providing me with a service, but also because I remember how nice it was to have one decent human being come into the store when I was in retail. Even in retail, the Wednesday and Sunday shoppers (after Church....no shock) were the worst to deal with by far. Some people really need to wake up and act like decent human beings when in public. Anyway, this was a decent book for the dollar I paid for it.