This book made me so angry. The conspiracy network to underhandedly commit a continuous crime against humanity is revolting. It is revolting that it is ongoing. It is revolting that people turn a blind eye to it, for one reason or another. More people need to read this, learn about this, and get angry about this. It shouldn't even shock me that something of this magnitude is even glossed over and spun in a way to fit a certain narrative. I am so glad this book was recommended to me, because I certainly learned some things I was not aware of before. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Zionist movement, and the current conflict between these groups today. 

 The Sackler family dynasty was really created by three brothers- Arthur, Mortimer, and Raymond. All were doctors, all faced incredible hardships due to anti-Semitism and financial insecurity from the Great Depression. All three worked at the Creedmor Psychiatric Center in New York, where they began to advocate for drug therapies and different treatments. The brothers bought Purdue Pharma, a drug company, with Arthur taking over the marketing. They began pushing Valium, and later OxyContin. As their fortune grew, so did their shenanagins. They began collecting art, estates, and expensive things. They traded up wives and mistresses regularly. There were all manner of mini scandals and rows, which greatly interested me, as I secretly love dirty historical gossip.

The family began donating great sums of money and items to various medical, educational, and art institutions. Charity wasn't necessarily the goal behind this...it was more to get their name out there and leave a mark that people would remember. They were seen as great philanthropists, while simultaneously having their fingers in the pies of opioid crisis. There are a lot of lawsuits against members of the family for their push to use opiates and contributing the opioid crisis we are facing today- upwards of 1,000 lawsuits! There are other civil lawsuits pending against members of the family. Recently, there has been a massive push to remove the Sackler name from all of these places, and it has been successful in a few locations so far. Many places have vowed to stop accepting any gifts from members of the Sackler family. This family is still in the news, especially since the release of this book, and I searched up several articles about the current litigations and what the family were up to. I am curious to see how this plays out in the coming years.

Talk about a dramatic book! People who think that nonfiction books are boring are reading the wrong kinds of nonfiction books. This book was recommended to be on the "based on your recent purchases" list on Audible, so I picked it up with my credits for this month. I was not disappointed at all. There is also a documentary available on Hulu, called Dope Sick, that is about this family. I plan to watch that as soon as possible as a companion to this book. 

 Lettice Knollys was born in 1543 in England. Her mother was Catherine Carey, a daughter of Mary Boleyn. Her aunt was Elizabeth I's mother, Anne Boleyn. Her father was Sir Francis Knollys, a Member of Parliament and Master of the Horse for Edward VI. She was Maid of the Privy Chamber when Elizabeth I attained the throne. She married Walter Devereux, Viscount Hereford. They had two daughters, and she was pregnant with a son when she wound up flirting with Robert Dudley, which immediately reduced her in the Queen's eyes. She was extremely jealous and possessive over Dudley, and could not stand this affair they were having while Lettice's husband was away. They wound up splitting up and she married Robert Dudley, which further infuriated Elizabeth I. She never accepted the marriage, and banished her from court. By all accounts, she never forgave her for marrying him. He was terribly in debt, and died leaving it to her to deal with. After Elizabeth's death, she was able to have some debts forgiven and live in some state of peace.

I discovered this author on accident via Twitter, and got this book and another one. I really enjoyed this book. The way she tells the story is entertaining, and you can tell she did her research. I didn't know anything about Lettice (I called her lettuce nearly the whole time) until I read this book. I knew that Robert Dudley married and it upset Elizabeth, but I didn't realize who the wife was or how miserable she had it when facing the wrath of a long reigning monarch. I would recommend this book, and I cannot wait to read the other book I have by this author. 

 Elizabeth was born in 1466 at Westminster Palace, England. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV. She was briefly betrothed to both George Neville and the Dauphin of France, but both were cancelled due to various circumstances. She was made Lady of the Garter in 1477. Her father died, elevating her brother, Edward V, to the throne. Her mother's marriage was declared invalid, and she fled with her younger children to attempt to stay safe from Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard eventually took over the throne as Richard III. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York in an alliance between their mothers. Elizabeth and her mother in law (that I cannot stand) Margaret Beaufort shaped the court and the etiquette. Elizabeth had no political influence, but her MIL sure did. I am not really a fan of Henry VII, and he had a terrible reputation as a money hoarder, refusing to spend money for anything necessary or to improve conditions. She provided Henry VII with heirs, including the notorious Henry VIII. Unfortunately, she gave birth to her last daughter, Catherine, who died. Elizabeth herself died from a post partum infection, which was a fairly frequent occurrence back then. Henry VII was apparently quite upset about her death, as well as her surviving children. She was reported to be very kind to everyone she came in contact with, so there were many who mourned her death.

I bought this book because I watched The White Princess and The White Queen and read that series of books. I also really enjoy the work of this author. She always researches her subject very well, and there are always books in the bibliography worth checking out and reading. I also like this time period, and try to read as much as I can about the Tudor's and Plantagenet's. I was pleased with my purchase. 

 I have read other Andrew Morton books and liked them, so I had high hopes for this one. It was really very good. I cannot believe I waited this long to read it. It was well researched, informed, and interesting. Princess Margaret is one of my favorite modern-day royals. I spend a lot of time reading about royals from the 1700's and prior, but she is always one that I love to read about Her relationship with Group Captain Townsend is what a lot of people know her for, other than being the sister of Queen Elizabeth, but she has so much more to her than that. She was a really vibrant person, which this book captures. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Princess Margaret or Queen Elizabeth's earlier life. 

 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, was born in 1542. She was the only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland. Her father died when she was six days old, making her Queen. She was sent to France to marry the Dauphin, Francis, and to stay safe from English invaders. She and Francis were only married a year before his death. She returned to Scotland, amid a period of religious upheaval. Her second husband was found murdered. She was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her son, James. She fled to England to seek asylum from her relative, Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII, and the granddaughter of Henry VII. Mary Stuart was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII. She was placed under house arrest in England, because she had a claim to the English throne. People from Scotland also sent letters, which Mary claimed were fake, to Elizabeth. The letters were an attempt to prove that Mary had facilitated the murder of her second husband. In the meantime, she had reinvented herself as an extremely devout Catholic, in stark contrast to Elizabeth's Protestant ways. She was implicated in a plot to seize the throne from Elizabeth and start a Catholic uprising, which ultimately resulted in her execution.

This book was actually a pretty exciting book to read. It was full of intrigue and drama, but still full of historical facts. I knew about the conflict between these two women thanks to watching Reign on the CW channel. I had been meaning to look up the actual facts and not a period dramatization of them, and happened to run across this book. I was really pleased with it .

 Eleanor was born sometime around 1124 in France. Her father was William X, Duke of Aquitaine. She received tutoring, as most of the nobility did. She learned history and mathematics, as well as household skills. She was very capable at games of chess and cards. She married Louis VII of France in 1137. Eleanor was not popular with the people because she was lively, loud, spoiled, and crass. She told inappropriate stories and jokes, but she was well liked by Louis. Unfortunately, they had some fundamental differences regarding religion and the Crusades. She had also not provided him with a male heir, and the powers that be worked out an annulment based on too close of a familial relationship.

After her marriage to Louis VII ended, she married Henry II, who turned out to be her third cousin. Henry II eventually became King of England. During this marriage, she had five sons and three daughters. According to some accounts, they did not have a good relationship with each other, but Henry was an insufferable person in his own right. There were a lot of affairs during this time. She was also imprisoned for sixteen years due to her personality and actions. I think that is absolutely criminal, but times were very different then. She was finally freed when Henry II died in 1189. She died in 1204, aged 82.

This book was great. It was pretty short, which I appreciated. It sometimes gets tedious reading huge massive thousand page biographies. This one had enough information conveyed that you learned a lot about the life and times of the subject, but short enough that keeping interest was simple. I very much enjoy the work of this author, and highly recommend her work. 

 I bought this book several months ago, and was looking forward to reading it. I decided to branch out with reading one unread book off each shelf to keep myself from getting stuck on one subject like I always do. I chose this one for the month of January for the 2021 Reading Challenge, and I am not sorry I did. I had never heard of Lorena Hickock until this book, and I had certainly never heard of any love affair between Eleanor Roosevelt and anyone else. I knew about FDR and his lady loves, but not about Eleanor. I learned so much interesting and valuable information for this book. This was my second favorite book that I read in January. 

 Elaine's was a very popular restaurant in New York, in operation from 1963-2011. Elaine's was named after the owner, Elaine Kaufman. Elaine was determined to create a restaurant that would be frequented by writers. It was frequented by writers, actors and actresses, publishers, directors, and plenty of other types. Elaine's was a happening place, and a staple in the community for many years. Elaine herself was a loud and boisterous character. She was gruff when people first met them, but she warmed up eventually. She had a great ability to seat people around those that would benefit them, or that could entertain each other. She was well loved by the community, and was even designated a living landmark in 2003. Sadly, Elaine died in 2010, at age 81. The restaurant closed shortly after.

This book is available on the Audible Plus catalog right now. It is about a 2.5 hour listen. The book made several mentions about this restaurant being in movies and songs. I thought that was really neat. There were so many famous named mentioned in this book that were regulars at Elaine's, which is interesting if you are into celebrity stuff. The book had a complication of memories from several people that knew Elaine, and it was endearing to get to know this woman who was such a force. I added this book to my library on Audible due to my interest in famous buildings and landmarks. It was a pretty good book to listen to while I was messing around on Pinterest last night. I enjoyed it. 

 This book is about Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, Edward Mountbatten-Windsor. Somehow, he has managed to run his own business and not bring too much trouble into the Royal Family, unlike some of his siblings. This book is fairly old now, and I would love to see an updated account. The biographical information was worth what I paid for it, certainly, and I did like learning about Sophie Rhys-Jones as well.