I have read in interviews that the author made up this story. Whether he did or not, the fact remains that there are countless children who endure such, or worse, abuse every single day. It is tragic that people have to endure abuse like this. I cannot imagine treating my child in this way, or any way similar. It was a moving book. 

 This was a book about life as a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. I knew nothing about the lives and jobs of helicopter pilots during this time, and it was a very interesting first hand account. Everyone should have this in their Vietnam collection. 

 Leland Melvin was born in 1964 in Virginia. He attended the University of Richmond on a football scholarship, where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry. While attending the school, he played football in the position of Wide Receiver and was also team captain his senior year. He went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Virginia. He began his career with NASA in 1989. He was selected for astronaut training in 1998, but an accident left him with severe hearing damage. He wound up regaining some hearing and was cleared for space flight. He logged over 500 hours in space, flying on two missions aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Since his retirement, he has given lectures about science and engineering.

This was a pretty good book. I love a memoir and I also love a space book. I cannot imagine the training involved to be an astronaut, especially those who have multiple difficult degrees to obtain. Melvin is a very intelligent man, and his way with words is captivating. This was a very inspirational book, even if you aren't trying to be an astronaut. It's a reminded to never give up and to keep a positive attitude. 

 In this most recent installment in the saga of Kay Scarpetta, we are embroiled in all kinds of shenanagins. To start, a body is discovered that has an amazing amount of trauma inflicted upon it. Before they get very far in dealing with that crime scene, Kay and Benton start getting mysterious telephone calls from someone who claims to be with Interpol. None of that makes any sense at all. Ultimately, they decide all this nonsense has to do with a (shocker) cyber bully with the stupid name of Tailend Charlie. Even more of a shocker is that technological genius Lucy the Obnoxious cannot seem to trace or discover who is responsible for that. SPOILER AHEAD............I am sick unto death of the whole Carrie and Temple arc. These characters should have been done away with ages ago, right along with Lucy. I had a feeling the whole plot had something to do with those two miscreants, which, of course, it did. I am just over all three of them and the constant internal monologue from Kay about her relationships and this and that and everything else. Every single one of her worst and most annoying qualities are on full display in this book. To date, this surpasses the other few books that I really disliked and is sitting firmly at number one. I just saw an article that said Patricia Cornwell was researching for another Scarpetta book, and I will read it because I have made it this far in this series, but I am looking forward to it a lot less than I probably would have at some point. 

 In this eleventh installment, Anita finds herself living happily with Micah and Nathaniel, while also continuing to date Jean-Claude. Her relationship situation continues to become more complex. She seems to find herself becoming the center of attention to a number of spies, sucked into a conflict between Jean-Claude and his vampire master, and while trying to solve a series of rapes and murders committed by some manner of shapeshifter, her relationship with the police goes on the rocks. At the end of this novel, she is continuing to date both Micah and Jean-Claude, while also sleeping with Asher...but, thankfully, Richard is still out of the picture. Thank goodness for small favors. 

 This book outlines the cases of Levon Brooks and Kennedy Brewer, two black men living in Mississippi, and the murders of two three year old girls. In the early 1990's, two little girls were snatched from their homes, made off with, sexually assaulted, and killed. Anyone who can sexually assault and murder a child is a severely disturbed person. Police did not seem to take evidence seriously, if at all, and the medical examiner and his "forensic expert" dentist friend made egregious errors in judgment and protocol. I was absolutely horrified reading this, but the sad fact is that stuff like this is still going on. It isn't just a "southern" problem, though everyone knows we are a little slow on the uptake down here sometimes. Reading things like this really makes you lose faith in the criminal justice system more and more, and I cannot even imagine how minority families feel as this really impacts them most of all. It's tragic and is long overdue for a major change. I can really understand why people have such a negative view of courts and such.

The book appeared to be well researched and factual, and I enjoyed that about it. I did not enjoy the fact that it did not include any photographs, so I had to stop reading at several points and do a Google search to see what these people looked like. (I like to have a face with who I am reading about.) During my Google searching, I ran across The Innocence Project website, which I was familiar with, but never really check. My sister probably does, as she is super into true crime, more than I am. The Innocence Project does really great work trying to get wrongly incarcerated people exonerated and released, and if you are unfamiliar, do look into it. I have to say that this book was enraging for so many reasons. The fact that two little babies were snatched out of their beds, assaulted, and murdered is enraging. The fact that two innocent men had thirty years of their lives wasted for something heinous that they did not do is enraging. The fact that the killer, who everyone knew was off, was waltzing around is enraging. The fact that the criminal justice system is so grossly corrupted and negligent is enraging. Also, the fact that these parents were adults in the 1990s means that their parents were alive in the Serial Killer Seventies and Eighties, and they really didn't seem to teach their children how to lock their doors and windows at night is half enraging and half mind blowing. I am not going to sit here and say that I am a super parent, or that I am the most observant, or that people won't break into your house if they really want to get in it, but I do use some basic self preservation skills and check my doors. People are out here in the world being entirely too trusting and not thinking with their whole brain. I am glad that these guys were finally exonerated and that the actual murderer came forward. Those poor girls and their families, and the wrongfully accused men and their families had a long wait for justice. How hard that must have been to reconcile. Overall, this was a good book. I'm glad I found it at the library. 

 This is a story about survival in Auschwitz. It was a short book, but it was worth it. Even though the experiences of so many people were the same, each story is different. No matter how many stories like this I read, I can never fully wrap my head around how people managed to make it through these situations. 

 I would love to sit and talk to this man. I love his personality and his mindset. I learned a lot about the invasion of Iraq, and some of the key figures that I remember reading about in the news. I really enjoyed this perspective and would recommend. 

 This book is about the personal experiences of the author, Jennifer Worth, who left home at age 22 to become a midwife. She moved into a convent and served people in London's East End, in the slums, giving them prenatal care and midwifery services. It was interesting to read her experiences with people from various walks of life and in all kinds of financial brackets. I cannot imagine doing that job ever, and certainly not in a time before vaccinations, indoor plumbing, and more modern contraception. (Even though the United States has decided to regress in that aspect.) Her experiences were so interesting and of a time period not often covered, that a show was made about her books. (There are three.) I usually love a period show, so I may give it a try.

I bought this book because it had really good reviews and was highly recommended by a few history things that I follow on social media. I am very interested in World War II, so I thought this would give me a really good picture about how life was in the aftermath of the war. It did do that, so I cannot say that I was disappointed. I wish that I would have liked this book more than I did, but...I did not. It wasn't a bad book, or badly written, it just didn't quite do it for me in the way that I hoped. 

 I chose to read this book, because I am a fan of Blink 182. It was also included in Audible Plus, so that was great. I think that Travis Barker is a very talented musician, and I always love book like this. I am always interested in learning how people get into music and the struggles they went through in starting their bands. I learned a lot about his life and other adventures, and I really enjoyed this book overall.