This book talks about early civilizations, and how the advent of weapons changed societies form hunter gatherers to those bent on conquest and imperialization. It spoke about how those societies that moved away from that lifestyle developed governments, organized religions, and literacy. I found the discourse on upgraded farming and irrigation techniques useful for one paper that I had to write. I did also use this book as a reference for talking about the genocide of Native Americans and the weaponized use of smallpox. It did have some other interesting points, but I was still fairly unimpressed on the whole.

This book was recommended to me as a supplement to my Cultural Anthropology classes. I got this one, as well as Collapse. To be completely honest, I have no real idea why this author gets such great reviews. I usually always try to find something positive to say about every book that I read, even if I do not like them. I realize that some books aren't for everyone, and the people that wrote them did put in a lot of time and work and do not deserve to just be dragged. I have to say that I was personally bored to death reading this, and it did not supplement my courses in a way that was beneficial. To be fair, it did have some interesting parts in it, but looking at as a whole, it was not for me. 

 I did not really enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. I felt like it was quite drawn out. The earthquake and aftermath were devastating to this little island. It must be very hard to live unprotected in the middle of the ocean where you are subject to this type of struggle at any moment. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis... and to be in a place where you do not have supplies or money or sewage that is working or even a standing house... what a hardship. 

 This book features the personal accounts of ten slaves, all under the age of nineteen. Being enslaved as an adult would a horrific experience, and a huge culture shock, but being a child who is enslaved...I simply cannot imagine. How terrifying to be ripped out of your home, away from everyone you know, separated from your family and enslaved. These accounts were so tragic, but I believe they are very important. We learned about slavery in school, but it was a basic overview. We never really learned about the horrors of being transported on a slave ship in the conditions that people had to endure. We never learned much about the abuse, the beatings and tortures for "crimes" that were supposedly committed. When we did learn about slaves being whipped, it was certainly not mentioned that children our own ages or younger were subjected to such treatment. People always consider that it is important to have the accounts of the Holocaust and other atrocities for future generations to learn from, but it is not often mentioned that accounts from former enslaved persons are also important. I found this book to be very valuable in growing my perception of life experiences of enslaved people and that time period. 

 John Paul Getty was born in Minnesota in 1892. His father was an attorney, who subsequently bought some land and oil rights, boosting the family into wealth. J. Paul was very smart and studious. He spoke several languages and loved to read. His father gave him some money to expand the oil business, which he did very savvily. He did a lot of lucrative business deals, founding the Getty Oil Company in 1942. He was married five times, and had five children. One son, Timmy, died at age 12.

John Paul II, the third son of J. Paul, was an interesting man as well. He was married to Gail, with whom he had four kids, but married a Polish model, Talitha, after their divorce. Talitha died of a heroin overdose, and JP II had also become addicted during this time. This disappointed J. Paul and JP II eventually resigned from the company. One of his sons, Mark, went on to found the Getty Images company we all know today. His daughter, Ariadne, went on to be a film producer. His son with Talitha had the most bizarre name... Tara Gabriel Gramophone Galaxy Getty... who became an ecological conservationist in Africa. His other son, John Paul III, was kidnapped and held for ransom, which his father did not pay. His life was very unfortunate, having turned to drugs and alcohol to deal with the trauma, which caused him to have a stroke and be chair bound until he died.

The situation with the kidnapping is just one of the first in a long line of tragic occurrences. Of course, Timmy's death at age 12 was the real beginning. Several members of the family have died due to old age, drugs, etc. Several other Getty relatives have made a name for themselves. August Getty designs dresses worn on the red carpet. Nats Getty designs streetwear and is a well known LGBTQ activist. Anne Getty Earhart is an environmentalist. There are several musically inclined ones, and most all of them are supportive of arts, causes, and philanthropy.

Personal Thoughts: Wow. Where to begin. I got this book with my Audible credits, and I was looking forward to reading it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it took me forever to get through. (My own fault, not the book.) This book was extremely well researched, and provided a lot of details about many of the family members, especially John Paul Getty. I was aware of Getty Images before I read this book, so the connection to that pop culture thing was neat. I was mostly aware of the Getty family thanks to some true crime show about the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. The book does mention a lot of the art collections and philanthropy projects by various members of the family, which I plan to do a deeper dive into. (I can't stand when people support causes simply because of famous names, especially in the climate we are unfortunate enough to be living in right now.) Overall, I thought this book was extremely interesting and informative. I really enjoyed learning about this family. It's a large family and there are a whole cast of characters, so I was never bored. I think I could have benefitted from a flow chart though. If you are into family dynasties, this is one I would highly recommend picking up. 

 This book was written by one of Osama bin Laden's children and wives. It is interesting to see what kind of person he was in a familial setting, because we all know what kind of person he was on the global stage. I am always curious about what people like this are like behind closed doors. The account of what life was like for these two was actually quite captivating. I usually like Jean's books and this one was no exception. It was good. 

 This is Ann Rule's take on the case of Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer. Rule always presents the facts of the cases she writes about in a way that is easy to read and understand. This book is long and extremely detailed. It covers each known murder, plus the life of Ridgeway. I learned so much from this book. I would certainly recommend it if you want a deep dive into this particular case. 

 This book is written by Susannah Cahalan, who also wrote Brain On Fire. It is not necessary to read both, but in Brain On Fire, she outlines her stay in a mental facility and her treatment, which directly correlates to this book. I wish I would have known about it, because I would have loved to have read it first. I think it would have supplemented this book in a great way, as she references her experiences throughout. I am putting that on my to read list as soon as I finish my thoughts about this book.

This book was recommended to me, I think, from Goodreads or Audible. It was one of those "since you read Damnation Island, you may like this" things. At the beginning, it talks about some of the off the wall reasons people were committed to institutions for. I cannot imagine it. This book talks about a psychologist in the 1970's, named David Rosenhan. He and some conspirators went undercover and got themselves admitted to various institutions under the guise of mental illness to see how people were diagnosed, what they endured, the treatment they received, and how they got out. The results of his study shocked the entire world of psychology. This was a really interesting book. If you are into psychology or medical history, this would be a good book for you. 

 I read this book before the Coronavirus outbreak, and looking back on it now, it is really interesting to see the parallels between the actions that were taken during the flu pandemic and the ones that were taken in this one. It was a very interesting book about the flu and how it was spread between countries. 

 Henry VIII was born in England in 1491. His parents were Elizabeth of York and Henry VII. He was given a lot of appointments during childhood, including Constable of Dover Castle, Earl Marshall of England, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Knight of the Bath, and Duke of York. He was also appointed to the Order of the Garter. He attained the throne at age 17, marrying his bother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. Together, they had one child, Mary I. (They had other children that were either stillborn or died in infancy.) He also had an illegitimate child with his mistress, Henry FitzRoy. Of course, he did away with Catherine in favor of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who provided him with one daughter as well. Elizabeth I was not even three when her mother was executed and her father took a third wife. Jane Seymour gave Henry a legitimate son and heir, Edward VI, but she died soon after as a result of childbirth complications. His fourth wife was Anne of Cleves, who he seemed to like as a person, but was not attracted to. He had that marriage annulled, though they did seem to remain friendly. He instead set his sights on Catherine Howard, who he had executed for her behavior. His final wife was Catherine Parr, who outlived him.

As far as his policies and activities as a monarch, he seemed to like the policy of politically motivated executions. He had quite a few of his father's advisors and ministers executed for high treason. He had issues with France and the Habsburgs, annexed Wales, he had several monasteries and shrines destroyed, was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, which he had broken from, and went to war with Scotland. His war with religion, especially around the time when he wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon in favor of Anne Boleyn, is one of the things that he is most well known for. (Aside from the fact that he had six wives and liked having people beheaded.)

Another interesting set of theories and facts surround his health. It is known that he suffered an accident while jousting in 1536. Historians have suggested that the accident could have caused a traumatic brain injury, which could explain his mood swings and fits of rage. While they did use helmets, the helmets were not built in a way that would prevent traumatic brain injuries from happening. It is also suggested that this jousting accident caused the wound on his leg that doctors could never get to heal. It was always ulcerated and infected, which probably also did not help his temper. It has also been suggested in several works that he suffered from gout, syphilis, McLeod Syndrome, and may have been Kell positive. At any rate, he was certainly obese and certainly suffered from boils and other issues. He died in 1547 at age 55.

I checked this book out from the library some time ago, but I found a copy at my local used book store so I bought it. I have nearly all of the other books by the writer, so I figured I needed it for my personal library. I am currently in the process of downsizing in an effort to get moved, but I am not parting with this set of books. I enjoy Carolly Erickson's work. She does a great job conveying the story of the person she is writing about, and her research is well done. I thought this book was interesting and informative, and I am glad to have it.