Hermann Goering was born in Bavaria in 1893. (I found it of particular interest that his godfather was a Jewish physician/businessman, giving the family a small house and a castle. His mother also had an affair with this man, Hermann Epstein, that carried on for fifteen years.) Goering was very interested in the military, and that was his greatest ambition in life for a long time. He wound up serving during World War I, first in the infantry and then with aircraft. He joined the Nazi Party in 1922 after hearing Hitler speak. During the Beer Hall Putsch, he was shot in the groin area, which was the start of his morphine addiction that caused him trouble later on. He obtained several ranks throughout his service to the Nazi Party, and certainly did his best to always be in good with Hitler. He was known for his expanding waist, and penchant for bespoke uniforms that didn't match anything else. He was also fairly flamboyant, wearing blush on his cheeks, silk robes, and painting his nails. He did a lot regarding the air support during the war, which is shocking since he spent so much time looting museums and everything else to fill his house with. He was incarcerated by Allied forces at the end of the war, convicted at trial for war crimes, and then committed suicide by a smuggled cyanide pill to avoid being hung. He died in 1946 at age 53.

He was the second highest ranking Nazi official to be tried in court for war crimes. He was charged with conspiracy, waging a war of aggression, crimes against humanity (for the disappearance of political opponents, the mistreatment of prisoners of war, and murder of civilians), and war crimes (stealing artworks and personal property). His behaviour at trial was reprehensible, but what could anyone really expect. He amassed a large collection of antiques and art, and a great deal of personal wealth from stolen goods and monies. There was strong evidence that he knew about the torture and murder of prisoners of war, as well as the actions in the Holocaust. He did nothing to prevent any of this, and happily facilitated it. He expressed his loyalty to Hitler several times during his testimony. I liked that the bodies were cremated and scattered in the river so that there isn't a specific grave for the current generation of racists to use as a shrine.

This book was very detailed and contained a lot of information about the life and times of Hermann Goering. I had read plenty about him before this, but still managed to learn a few new facts. I think this is probably one of the better books written about this subject that I have come across, which is why I happily gave it four stars. Check this book out if you are interested in the notorious players in the Nazi Party. 

 This book was suggested to me by someone I know who was watching the show with Leah Remini that she has with Mike Rinder on Netflix and Hulu. I have watched her show, read her book, and watched the Going Clear documentary film on HBO. The book includes interviews with some current and former members of Scientology, and their responses of how they got sucked into this religion are so interesting to me. Learning about how the structure of Scientology is set up is both interesting and mind blowing. People really let themselves believe some wild things. L Ron Hubbard was such a scam artist and had a vivid imagination. He made himself out to be some Naval hero, when he was a terrible commander and took his silly commander obsession and created himself a scifi religion and sucked in to many people and milked them for all they had and sent them into severe debt. I hope people who are still in this are able to get themselves out. This does not seem like a productive thing for an individual or society as a whole. 

 I bought this book for seventy five cents, and I am glad that I didn't pay more for it. There were some interesting stories and insights brought up in this book about some passages in the Bible. I had never heard or really paid attention to some of them, and it was fairly interesting. I think I read this over several days while waiting in the school pickup line. It wasn't the best thing I have ever read, but it was okay for what I paid for it. 

 This book takes on the topic of Mormon and Christian Fundamentalism, specifically in reference to polygamy. Polygamy is the (usually religious) practice of having more than one spouse. Typically, one marriage is legal through the state government, and the rest are ceremonial/spiritual marriages. My interest in this was developed from the TLC show Sister Wives, but I did love the classes about religion that I took for my Cultural Anthropology degree. This book was not as great as I had hoped, but the personal testimonies from polygamists was well worth the read. Being in a plural marriage is certainly not for me, and I cannot imagine being raised in communities where this was the normal. 

 This book was a small memoir, but a powerful one. The family dynamic in this book was hard to wrap my mind around, which, I suppose, is a privilege for me. This was a great read. I really enjoyed seeing the way these relationships and problems played out. 

 I have been wanting to read this book for a long time. I had heard great things about it, so I finally found it on sale and picked it up. I wish that I would not have spent the four dollars on this book. I was thoroughly disappointed in it. It is fairly short, and I read it over a couple of days while waiting in the school pick up line. It features the bizarre murder of four teenage boys, who, along with one girl, went to Gitchie Manitou State Park to hang out around a campfire. Three men appeared to stalk them for some amount of time, pretended to be police doing a drug bust, and wound up killing them. The girl was taken by the men, raped, and then dropped off back home. The book started off to be very interesting, and the story itself was weird. I learned more from Googling news articles and reading about it than I did from the book. The writers of the books seemed to want to tell the story in a way that they felt would make it interesting, but it really did a disservice to the actual events and the story of the surviving girl. 

 I bought this book with my Audible credits, primarily because my sister is very into gymnastics and this particular case. This book is about Larry Nassar, who is a disgusting excuse for a human being, in my personal opinion. He was brazen and manipulative. He was a complete slimeball. The primary focus in the book was his "donated services" as a doctor of sports medicine to a gymnasium in a small town in Michigan where he figured out ways to assault young girls, sometimes while their parents were in the room. Also, the coach in charge of this gym is a complete slimeball as well. This book was interesting, because it had never really crossed my mind how he was able to get away with his shenanagins for such a long time. I would suggest this book for anyone interested in gymnastics or Larry Nassar's gross self. It was informative and moving to hear the testimonies from some of the girls he abused. 

 I really liked this book! Chicago is one of my favorite musicals, and learning about the real girls behind it was really interesting. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of the musical and for those interested in crime and historical crime. 

 Susanna Kaysen was placed in an institution after a suicide attempt (via baby aspirin) and an evaluation from a psychiatrist that lasted only a few moments. Kaysen gives us a portrait of life inside an institution and of the other people who were there with her. I watched this film years ago, and when I realized it was based on a book of the same title, I ordered it straight away. I love both the film and the book, and I would recommend it for anyone who wants a glimpse into institutions in the 1960s era. 

 I got this book during the Audible two for one credit sale, so I was doubly pleased with this book. I have read several books about terrorism and religious extremism in the middle east, but I have not read much about ISIS as an entity. I cannot imagine being a female in this climate. The oppression is unreal, the abuse is unreal. This particular girl had her town invaded by ISIS, resulting her being sold into sex slavery. Her story is heart breaking, but the resilience and fact that she found a way out of that negative situation and was able to share her story and raise awareness of what was really going on was amazing. I enjoyed this book.