I loved this book! I really like the Roaring Twenties Era. I love the music, the style, the clothes. I love the attitude. This was a great look into that time period and all of the ladies who made that world spin. I highly recommend this book. 

 This book is about the Marines who fought on Iwo Jima and raised the American flag at the top. The son of one of these Marines is the author. He tells the story of each of the men, including what happened to them after the war. This was a really good book, and I loved learning about the real people behind the iconic photo. 

 I had never heard about the Langhornes of Virginia until I found this book. Nancy Langhorne married Waldorf Astor, and became the first female Member of Parliament in Britain. Irene Langhorne became the model for the Gibson Girls when she married Charles Dana Gibson. Phyllis Langhorne married Robert Brand, First Baron Brand. All five sisters had interesting lives and relationships. I was very interested in learning about these women, though I had heard of Nancy Astor before. The family had a lot of tragedy, as most old families do. It was not my most favorite historical book, but I really did learn a lot and enjoyed it. 

 THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, BUT IT MADE ME SO MAD I CANNOT HELP IT. (But I will notate when I start to ruin the book for you...)
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Union Carbide India Limited, an offshoot of the American company Union Carbide, built a chemical plant in Bhopal, India in 1969 to produce a pesticide for market. The pesticide that was produced was marketed under the brand name Sevin, and contained methyl isocyanate. (Other chemicals in the plant used in the creation of Sevin and MIC included phosgene, chlorine, cholorformate, etc.) The plant started off cutting corners and costs from the outset, which was a red flag parade on the way to the final disaster. Before this fatal disaster, other leaks occurred and poor safety was reported. At one point in the book, it talks about how they discovered the well they used for drinking had a nasty smell to it all of a sudden, and water their cows drank killed the cows. The company paid out money to those who lost their cows, and promised to take care of the issue. Nothing was ever told to the people about what the substances were or any dangers. (Go figure.) Not much seemed to improve, and by the time that the plant stopped producing, it was a rusty contraption. As far as it goes, the plant was a saving grace to a lot of people when it first opened. People were living in extreme poverty, partly due to crop failure from pests. This offered a source of decent paying income that was many times what families were used to living on. The problem is that many of them had no idea what they were doing, no idea what they were making, and really no business being in charge of things they didn't understand. (A common problem among a lot of businesses.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS BELOW~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the demand for pesticides decreased, the plant reduced production and then began shutdown. There were three large tanks that held around 18,000 gallons of liquid MIC still sitting at the plant. Apparently, even though the liquid had to be kept at a cool temperature, they thought it was wise to turn off the refrigeration. The tanks sat there from October to December without the coolant being pumped around them. (So smart.) The tanks were supposed to be kept at half capacity to allow for the introduction of a stabilizing agent in case of emergency. The tanks were also pressurized with nitrogen gas. They were over that amount. (Again, smart.) Parts of the plant were down for maintenance, including the flare tower, which is a way for gasses to be burned off for safety. (Great timing.) A vent gas scrubber, used to remove gasses from exhaust systems, was not properly working at the time of the disaster and others were out of service completely due to flushing pipes. (Awesome.) The chemical reaction created a buildup of glass, blowing apart the sarcophagus the tanks were housed in and allowed a toxic cloud to escape. The gas headed right for a densely populated area where low income people were amassed. They knew in advance that is likely where any escaped gas would travel, yet did nothing about that and did not tell the people. (Imagine that.) THOUSANDS of people died and HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS were injured in some way by these gas clouds. They died CHOKING. What a horrific way to die. Autopsies revealed a combination of horrific traumas in addition to choking to death. I cannot imagine how terrifying those last few second were for these people, and how much the ones who didn't die suffered.

The hospitals were swamped, and most of the doctors were under educated to begin with and certainly had no experience treating gas victims. The ones who were fortunate enough to survive faced a lot of health problems: cancer, stillbirths, infant mortality, blindness, etc. Tuberculosis was a common issue, and the effects of the gas made that a lot worse. Children had mental defects and stunted growth. Trees began to lose leaves and die. Animals and scavenging animals began to die, and fishing was banned. The land the plant itself is on is contaminated. Dangerous chemicals were there and it was used as a dumping ground after the explosion. The groundwater and soil is polluted. This has been an ongoing issue for 30 years, and the people have been lied to and dismissed every step of the way. They cannot get justice in the court systems in India or in the United States. It is revolting and sorry as HECK.

This book was absolutely infuriating. It just goes to show how much businesses care about production and money. They do not care about the land they destroy and pollute, the livelihoods they wreck, or the people and animals they kill hand over fist. Union Carbide did not build that plant in Bhopal nearly as well as the plant it built in the United States, and even THAT ONE was trash and leaked and they lied to residents. (If they poop in their own yard, what makes anyone think they won't poop in someone else's that they really don't care about.) The building was essentially falling down around them, things were not maintained, things were not repaired correctly or timely. Valves were bad, pipes were rusty, gauges were faulty, and alarms were not working. Safety was not a priority, really, for a lot of the workers and certainly not by the company. (Especially when they took away the refrigeration and overfilled the holding tanks on a volatile chemical....)

And just so you know, the Union Carbide company is now a part of DOW Chemical Company. They also have a website that swears up and down that the facility was state of the art, the safety was top notch, and everything was absolutely perfect. They swear that a disgruntled worker sabotaged the whole place and literally killed thousands of people by connecting a hose from one pipe to the tanks.... I cannot believe that they think people are stupid enough to believe that. While it may be possible, the evidence against Union Carbide is overwhelming. Even if a person did sneak in and sabotage during a shift change, why did they allow the place to be deserted with no type of guard. Sounds like some more lack of responsibility on their part. DOW Chemical is just as guilty in this for covering up so they don't have to pay out any money, and they are lying liars.

~~~~~~~~~~ACTUAL THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK IF YOU SKIPPED THAT OTHER PART~~~~~~~~

As far as the book itself goes, the research was amazing. There was a great background story about why India was a prime place to manufacture and sell pesticides. There was a very human element to it, as it followed people's lives that lived and died in the area. It had a lot of details about how the plant operated and how the chemicals were handled. I don't know if the average reader would just select this to read, but if you are a historian, interested in Indian history, or into disasters, this is a must read book. I enjoyed it, and was not bored at all. Especially once I got to the actual disaster part. It did make me absolutely furious, but I suppose that was part of the point. To get people to be furious about disasters like this and the shady business that goes into creating them and the cover ups that happen after. It was worth the $4 I spent on it, but if you are a Kindle reader it is $2.99 on there. Whew, I feel like I ranted a lot, so if you read all of that, I apologize. I was just so mad about this situation!! 

 This is a highly researched and detailed book about the events at Memorial Medical Center, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. There was substantial damage and patient deaths as a result. I think people do not consider those left in hospitals and care facilities. I am probably guilty about that as well. I remember when Hurricane Katrina hit when I was in high school. I never knew about this hospital or the caregivers who faced legal action for giving injections to patients to hasten their deaths. Honestly, I would prefer that over drowning, starving, or heat stroke. Natural disasters are impactful in so many ways. This was a really good book, and I would recommend it. 

 I had to read this book for my Personal Psychology class in college. I thought it was going to be asinine, but it was actually pretty interesting. We had to take the quiz that went along with the book, and, honestly, my results fit my personality quite well. To be even more honest, this book has helped me in all of my relationships, not just the romantic ones. We could all be more attentive to the people that matter to us. 

 Anne de Courcy is one of my favorite historians. I can never find a bad thing to say about her books. I thoroughly enjoy all of them. I loved this book. I had learned about husband hunting in the colonized areas, though it was just a brief mention. I learned so much just from this book about what life was like in colonial India, and how people went about courting and marriage. I can't wait to finish the other books I own by her. I always learn so much. She is always factual, to the point, and well researched. 

 This is the story of Loung Ung, the daughter of a high ranking government official. She was one of seven children born into the family. The family lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When Loung turned five, the Khmer Rouge took over the city, causing her family to leave. The family separated, and the children wound up in forced labor camps and trained as soldiers. Loung witnesses a lot of horrific things, which you would assume since this was a genocide. I cannot imagine witnessing these things as an adult, but how in the world could children reconcile what they were experiencing, especially at five years old. This book was really sad to read, but I am a firm believer that first hand accounts of the experiences in genocides and civil wars are important for the historical and human perspective. If you are interested in the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, or Asian history, this might be a good book for you to pick up. 

 Neil Armstrong was born in Ohio in 1930. He attended Purdue University, where he studied aeronautical engineering. He served in the United States Navy, seeing action during the Korean War. He became a test pilot once his service in the Navy was over. He did some pretty remarkable things during his stint as a test pilot. (I am too nervous to get on a plain commercial plane, and certainly could never fathom being a test pilot.) He began working for NASA and was selected for the Gemini Project. He was also part of the Apollo project, during which he walked on the surface of the moon. After Apollo 11, he served on several NASA commissions, did some teaching, explored the North Pole, and did some business deals. He died in 2012 at the age of 82.

I think most of us are at least familiar with his famous quote while walking on the moon. I didn't really know very much about his career other than that fact. I certainly did not know about all of his accomplishments as a test pilot and other awards he got over the years. I think this book did a good job of researching this man and conveying relevant facts about him in a way that was entertaining. i also learned that he was buried at sea, which I hardly ever run across in anything I read. Pick this up if you are a space fan. 

 I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in World War II/Pacific Theatre. Even as a World War II major in college, the focus was mainly directed toward a few key Pacific Battles and the rest was European Theatre based. I do not recall learning anything about the dropping of the bombs, beyond that they were dropped and other such basic facts. I saw a documentary on Netflix about survivors from the bombings, and was extremely interested in finding other materials about this subject. This book gave a detailed insight into what it was like in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in the aftermath. I learned a lot from it, and I consider this book to be one of the most valuable ones I have in my Pacific Theatre collection of World War II books.