In this book, Louis tells a reporter his life story, spanning 200 years. He tells of his life up until the point where he met his maker- the Vampire Lestat. I personally enjoyed the descriptions of New Orleans from ages ago. I've seen several reviews that said the book was not well written, but that was not my impression at all. I enjoyed the writing style and the story. The whole arc with Claudia was a disaster for Louis, Lestat too, but Louis was more personally affected by that situation. The reporter in this story is enamored by the powers and the open world that being a vampire provides. He begs Louis to bring him over, and is determined that if Louis will not, he will track down Lestat. I would like to see a remake of the film with the more up to date special effects. I think it would be a lot better. I watched Queen of the Damned before I ever read any of these books, and I wound up reading Queen of the Damned first. I wish I wouldn't have done that. I would definitely suggest reading the series in order. 

 This book was written by Albert Speer, Nazi architect turned Armaments Minister. Speer gave a good description of his life prior to getting his Nazi positions, and certainly about his life after his appointments. He seemed to be very open about his activities in this book, though I find it difficult to believe that he didn't know what was going on inside the concentration camps. I think that one should take whatever is said in this book with a grain of salt. Perhaps he is trying to present himself in a better light, as I would probably want to do if I was involved in some things like that. 

 As this book's title clearly states, it is about the cult known as Scientology. Scientology was founded in 1954 by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer with an obsession with the Navy. Scientology boasts that it is the world's fastest growing religion, though I am not really sure why people would flock to it. The principals of Scientology are pretty ridiculous for a logical minded person, and all of the things that have come out in the media about the abuses inside the church should make people steer clear. Organized religion has a tendency to be over the top and not about the personal relationship between a person and their god. Organized religion is really about control and money, and this one certainly fits that description. Overall, this book was informative, but I did not learn anything new from it. I was slightly disappointed. If you are just getting into learning about this religion, this may be a good starting point for you. It is a short book with a good deal of information in it. It just wasn't as good as I had hoped. 

 This is the memoir of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a political figure who was the target of an assassination attempt. She was raised in a strict Muslim family, but eventually fled from a forced arranged marriage and sought asylum in a country where she could be a free person. Islamic militants came after her for the "shame" she brought on her family. She was publicly disowned by her father and forced out of her clan. She lost everything in taking this step to freedom. She has brought awareness to the issues facing Muslim women. I found this book to be very interesting. 

 This book is about a family of classically trained musicians living in Germany during the Nazi years. I love the personal account given by people who have experienced the horror of the war and persecution. I enjoyed this book quite a lot. 

 Doctor Steven Hatch traveled to Libera in 2013 to work in a hospital there as an infectious disease specialist. The Ebola outbreak in Libera was reported to be the largest on record. It ransacked the African continent, killing thousands, and killing others in various countries around the world. (Due to plane travel.) Unfortunately, Libera had a very poor health system at the time, which caused people to be hit especially hard by this outbreak. The author speaks in great detail about the disease and the effects, the death toll, and the difficulty of working in that situation on limited supplies and manpower. I cannot imagine doing this type of work and being in fear of contracting such a thing or dying from it. I cannot imagine seeing my friends and coworkers suffering from this infection and also still trying to work.

I have never personally needed an infectious disease specialist, but I am certainly glad that we have them in the world for those who find themselves in need of one. I would not want that job! We have all experienced this Coronavirus Pandemic, which is bad enough, but I cannot imagine a disease where I bleed from my eyeballs. I read Hot Zone about ebola and it was very educational and horrifying, and this book was the same. I think it is very important to understand that there are diseases like this out there, how they spread, and how to keep from getting them if at all possible. I enjoyed this book, which I assumed that I would, as I like all types of morbid and medical things. 

 I remember learning about the Donner Party in school, but the subject was only briefly mentioned. I listened to a podcast about this (The Last Podcast On The Left) and this book was suggested reading to go along with the episode. This goes into amazing detail about the people in the party and the things they endured. It was very bleak, imagining what they went through. What a complete disaster. 

 There are a lot of negative comments about this book due to the amount of sex and relationship drama. I can see why. At this point, one really needs to invest in a character directory and sexual flowchart. There is a whole host of vampire political a problems, which is becoming a little tedious, though it probably is like any government- squabbling and backhandedness. Several characters, especially Anita, are gaining or increasing in supernatural powers, and that learning curve is a lot to keep up with. Anita now has a relationship with about six people, and is adding more sexual partners by the day. Again, I suggest getting a flow chart to keep it sorted if you plan to continue in this series. Aside from that, there is someone preying on vampire strippers, but that really seems to take a back seat to the relationship drama. This has been my least favorite book in the series thus far. 

 This book is written by Niklas Frank, the son of Hans Frank. Hans Frank was a lawyer for the Nazi Party and found himself lording over Poland. He was eventually executed as a Nazi war criminal. Niklas Frank outlines his life as the son of a prominent Nazi official, and goes on what can only be described as a venomous tirade against his father and Nazi ideology. Who can really blame him? I really like the books written by children of Nazis, because it shows an aspect of the war that is often over looked. We read plenty about how people fought in the war, how they survived camps, things that people endured. It is less common to read about the children of these Nazis. I found this extremely interesting and entertaining. I highly recommend this for any World War II reader out there. 

 I was very interested to learn more about the Roman Empire, and the men who fought for it. I really wanted to love this book, but I did not. I found it boring and hard to get through. I hope anyone else who happens to read this has a better opinion of it than I do.