This book wasn't extremely long, but it was packed full of good information. There were a lot of things about Jefferson that I had not learned before when I was reading this. It doesn't hide some of the poor decisions and poor actions that he made while he was living and working. We know the usual stories about Thomas Jefferson, but some of these are lesser known.

I like this author. I have read a few books by Joseph Ellis, and I have liked all of them. His work is very readable, as well as educational. I always learn something from his books. Thomas Jefferson is one of my favorite historical figures to read about. He was very dynamic in his political dealings, and his personal life was extremely dramatic and sometimes vile. I wish it wouldn't have taken me so long to get to this book, because I really enjoyed reading it. I appreciated the fact that he didn't make it a book condemning Jefferson for his slave ownership and relationship with his slaves. I also appreciated that it didn't make him into some type of Great American Hero. One problem with figures like this is that people want to only laud the good qualities and never take an objective look. Just because someone does some really great things, their negative attributes cannot be discounted...or vice versa. I think the author did a good job of being objective. 

 I had some problems with the writing style of this book that made it difficult to continue, or boring in some parts. I read a lot of military books, mostly World War II, but I wanted to get this book and read it for several reasons. I wanted to branch out into other wars besides the one I majored in during college. I wanted to learn more about the experiences of some of my friends who were in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wanted to learn more about Chris Kyle, who I had read so much about in the wake of his murder. I came away from this book with a better understanding of Chris Kyle, the man, and Chris Kyle the warfighter. I came away from this book with a greater understanding of what the job of a sniper is like, as well as what the conditions in country were like. I thought the book was good. I can understand some of the negative reviews, based on some of the writing style of the book, but some of the reviews just seem like they were written by people who are antigovernment, antiwar, and antimilitary. Sometimes, you have to separate yourself from that and just take writings as a historical, personal account of something that happened and that experience of that person. It is hard for some people to separate personal beliefs from recent and ongoing issues, which is why it is often easier for people to read about history that is well in the past. 

 I had never heard of Dan Sickles. I got this book for less than a dollar and figured I would give it a try. I am not wild about United States history, but the word notorious drew me in. This guy was an absolute tool. He was a character of the worst kind. He was dramatic and shady. This was a pretty decent book. 

 I had never heard of Israel Keyes until I listened to an episode of The Last Podcast On The Left. This book is not the book on the reading list for the podcast, but I happened to run across it while shopping around on Audible. Israel Keyes hid kill kits all over the United States and fly and rent cars to get to his kits and go on his murdering journey. How he got himself caught was interesting, especially considering he had gotten away with many murders for something like fourteen years prior. The way this case was handled left a lot to be desired. It really shows the flaws in the justice system, as well as how unstable some people can be. I thought this book was very informative and engaging. 

 This book has gathered quite a few good reviews and stars. I bought it because I liked some of the music and I loved the movie. I thought it would be interesting to learn about the person, but it was not my favorite thing. It wasn't boring, but I suppose not being a super fan may have clouded my opinion of it. 

 This book was really interesting. I've been sick, so this was a great way to pass the time while I was cuddled in my bed. This book featured several notable houses, such as the house mentioned in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and the Manson murders. I liked the little history lesson with each house, as well as the true crime story. I think this was about a six hour listen, so not terribly long. I enjoyed it. 

 I put off reading my Afghanistan and Iraq books for a long time for a personal reason, so I finally got around to reading this one. It was a great book filled with personal stories of servicemembers lives and activities during war time. It is hard to imagine going through some of these events, especially if you have not been in similar ones. I can see why the brotherhood/sisterhood is very strong. When you go through everything together, or similar things, you have a connection that a lot of people do not get. I think this is a great book if you are looking for perspective on font lines life. 

 Aaron Burr is most commonly known for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, but there was a bit more to him. He happened to be the running mate of Thomas Jefferson for the presidency, and during that time, he challenged him. He had some wild ideas about the state of the nation and what was happening in the immediate future. He had some shady dealings with some equally shady characters, and I had a great time learning about that. I didn't realize he was into so many things. I think that Thomas Jefferson should have charged him with treason much sooner than he did, certainly.

You would imagine that this book would be a dry historical nonfiction about a couple of Revolutionary men, but that would be wrong. Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson's relationship had some depth, to say the least. Even though I knew about Burr and Alexander Hamilton's issues, I didn't realize he was such a distasteful character all around. I think I would have hated him in real life. His personality just seems so distasteful to me. This book was well researched, and I think the author did a great job of looking at Burr in his complete person. Often, we like to look at American history in the best possible light, especially those in the Revolutionary era, without taking notice of shenanagins and poor relationships that they were in. This was certainly a different time we are living in now, and it is very neat to compare the differences. I liked this book a lot more than I was expecting to. 

 The Amber Room was a room located in the Catherine Palace near Saint Petersburg, decorated with amber panels that contained gold leaf and mirrors as well. The room was intended for another palace, but was installed at this location, which was the summer palace of the Russian royals. Work on the panels began in 1701, and were designed by Andreas Schlüter. During World War II, curators attempted to hide the panels behind wallpaper to save them from thieves and keep the brittle amber from disintegrating. Unfortunately, that did not work, and the panels were set to be removed by the Germans. The area suffered an immense amount of fire bombing, and there are several theories as to what happened to the panels. Some said the panels were destroyed in the fire bombing, others say the Germans did remove them to somewhere, some said they were removed and then sunk via torpedo during transport. Thanks to photographs that were colorized, a reconstructed room was built so that people could see what the amazing work looked like.

I appreciated the author of this book doing the research into this amazing work of art. She went into great detail about all of the people involved in the disappearance of the room, as well as the construction of it. I didn't know a lot about the Amber Room before reading this book, other than it was a room in a Russian palace that vanished during World War II. So many beautiful and priceless art works were stolen from people, museums, and galleries in this era of insanity and cruelty. I love that a reconstructed room was made so that people in this modern era can get an idea of what this famous and mysterious room looked like. I would love to see it one day. If you are looking to learn more about this missing piece of history, this book was worth the read. 

 Alva Erskine Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1853. She came from a pretty wealthy and well-connected family. Being that she was from a Southern family with some means, her family did own slaves prior to the Civil War. The time in which she lived, the location in which she lived, and the attitudes of her family members really helped shape her racist attitudes. She is notorious for making all kinds of awful comments about all ethnicities, which was viewed as acceptable behavior at the time. She married William K. Vanderbilt in 1875, and became famous for her lavish parties and fancy dress. They had three children, who were each successful in their own right. She divorced her husband, shocking everyone, but went on to be very active for women's rights. She remarried, becoming a Belmont, and continued her parties, suffrage, and interest in architecture.

I am so disappointed in this book. This book was very poorly written, making it an absolute chore to read. I was very close to not finishing it and throwing it my laundry basket to trade for store credit prematurely. This book did not go into why she held some of the viewpoints that she did, which was disappointing and a missed opportunity. I would have loved to have learned more about her interests than this book gave. I would not recommend reading this at all, it is truly a waste of time. There are many other biographies about Alva Vanderbilt Belmont out there that would give a deep dive into her life and activities, without skipping the unsavory parts and being as dull as dishwater. This is by far the worst book I have read in a good while.