The focus of this book is on the relationships between Revolutionary War figures. I liked the letters that were included that they had written to each other. It gave a really inside and personal look into their communications and thoughts while trying to navigate leading a revolution and coming up with a government for a brand new country. I also really appreciate that it speaks about some of the flaws they have as humans. In history class at school, everything is very whitewashed and everyone was AMAZING and they did GREAT STUFF. People often forget that they are actual human beings and get up to the same shenanagins that current politicians do- cheating on spouses, drinking, fighting amongst each other, etc. I like an honest presentation of history, and this book does have some of that.

My goal for this year is to really buckle down and get some of the books that I own and have not read under control. I have a lot of United States history books to read, so I picked the shortest ones to get through first. This book was just over 250 pages, so if you are looking for a short read...here you go. 

 This book was horrific. Absolutely horrific. This is the personal account of Guy Sajer, who was fighting on the Eastern Front. The fighting was brutal, the conditions were even more brutal. I cannot imagine how people were able to get through this. The fighting, the lack of food, the lack of cleanliness, etc. War is truly horrible, and books like this always really make me remember that. 

 This book covers the life and career of Syud Hossain. Hossain was born in Calcutta in 1888. At the time, Calcutta was in British India. Several of his family members were involved in civil service in some way. His father was the Inspector General of Registration of Bengal. His maternal grandfather was a social reformer in Bengal. He briefly held a job as the Sub Deputy Collector in Calcutta, but left to attend school in England. He was an editor and journalist for a nationalist newspaper. He left for the United States, where he fought for Indian immigration rights. His efforts on that behalf resulted in the Luce-Celler Act of 1946. Once India achieved independence, Hossain was appointed as the first ambassador of India to Egypt. During this time, he also became the Minister to Lebanon and Transjordan. He died while serving in these roles in 1949. He was 61.

I got this book on sale on Kindle simply because it was on sale. I had never heard of this man, so I learned a great deal from this book. I am not really very well read in Indian history, so this was a really great learning experience for me. It was a short read as well, so if you are looking for something interesting and short, this might be for you. 

 I picked this up for a dollar at the bookstore in the city, and I thought it would be a really interesting book. It is a collection of short biographies about supposedly forgotten Americans. The problem with that is that it included plenty of people that were not forgotten. Tecumseh, Sitting Bull, Peggy Shippen, etc. I was highly disappointed in this book, and I would not recommend wasting time on it, even for a bathroom book. It was a major let down. 

 This was a very interesting book. I enjoy reading books from children of those involved in the mob, and this book showed what a glaring difference there was in the interactions between Roy and his daughters and Roy and his son. A lot of people, including those in law enforcement, fail to think about children as individuals and assume that they must be party to everything their parents do. While Albert was certainly more inclined in that direction, his sisters were not. This was a really good read. 

 I just cannot imagine anything happening to my daughter and my unborn grandchild. I cannot imagine the fear and concern that one would feel. When you marry someone, you expect them to love and care for you for the rest of your mutual lives together. You do not expect them to live a completely other life and then murder you and your child. Your parents do not expect to have to sit in a courtroom across from the person that promised to love and care for their child. It is really just horrendous. Sharon Rocha and the rest of Laci's family really suffered a tremendous loss and violation. I hate to say that this book was good, because it was a terrible topic, but it was very moving. I remember this case, and I have read about it several times. This was just a terrible thing. 

 In 1914, a naval base was established on Chichi Jima in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese used this during World War II as a supply point and long range radio station. This island was the frequent target of attacks by the United States, despite the fact that it was heavily armed and fortified. This book goes into detail about the lives of several United States pilots who were shot down while conducting missions on Chichi Jima. (One of the pilots shot down was George H. W. Bush, future President of the United States, but he was able to remain uncaptured.) They were tortured mercilessly before being murdered and four of them were cannibalized. (Lloyd Woellhof, Grady York, James Dye, Glenn Frazier Jr., Marvell Mershon, Floyd Hall, Warren Earl Vaughn, and Warren Hindenlang were the ones that were captured, tortured, and executed.) After the war, thirty Japanese soldiers were charged with war crimes and hanged.

This book is not one for the faint of heart. I am really looking forward to watching the film now that I have read the book. I though the research done by James Bradley was superb, and I appreciated that he was able to convey the horrible experiences that these men had as well as their relationships with their brothers in arms. This is a prime example of how horrible war can be. 

 This book was about the St. Francis Dam, located in California. I had never heard of this dam or this disaster, and found this book on a suggested list of books about disasters. This happened back in 1928, and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, and resulted in astronomical home and property damages. This book went into the planning and construction of the dam, which I had also never considered before reading this book. Mulholland had a good idea in building the dam and its purposes, but there were several fatal mistakes made in the construction. I think that William Mulholland really felt terrible about each part he played in this disaster, and not just for his reputation and financial implications. It was truly terrible, though hopefully a learning experience for other dam constructions going forward. This was a very enlightening book, which I enjoyed. 

 Flesh and Blood is the twenty second book in the Kay Scarpetta series. I mentioned in an earlier review that this series goes up and down like a rollercoaster, and we are certainly in a downward motion with these last few books. In this particular book, Kay and Benton are about to head off to Miami for a nice beach vacation until Marino calls to ruin that for them. There has been a sniper type of murder just a short jaunt from her home. Kay also discovers seven pennies of the same year perched on the wall behind her home, and she worries over what that means. She eventually carries on to Florida to dive a shipwreck, finding clues that only she (imagine that) can solve. Marino is back up to his arguing, petulant ways, which is nothing less than to be expected at this stage. Lucy is annoying as always, and manages to find herself implicated in this latest fiasco. Benton is evasive and silent as ever. He can never just use his words and always have to play cat and mouse about everything. He probably would behave that way about which brand of toothpaste to pick up. I am just so annoyed with all of these characters. 

 It is hard to believe that I have stuck with this series for eighteen books, when I am more of a nonfiction person and not into novels or series books...but here I am. I am committed to this, for better or worse. This just happens to be a phase of the worst, I think. Anita turns down a job raising an exploded corpse. She encounters some boys who want to kill her boy Micah, so she has to do something she does not wish to do to save his life. She uses her magical capabilities to do things to people that are unethical. Jean-Claude has to rush to the rescue. There is, of course, plenty of sex and tedious conversation about every. single. little. thing. Again, an unimpressive addition to the series.