Book three in the Scarpetta series seems to be based on The Colonial Parkway Killer. The Colonial Parkway Killer was active in the late 1980s, and several couples were murdered. In this book, couples are vanishing and are found months later as decomposing bodies. As with the last two books, the technical aspect of crime solving and forensics is quite detailed and in line with what was available at the time the books are based in. Marino and Scarpetta are getting along in a more copesetic manner in this book, though he is still rather boorish. Benton and his lack or inability to say certain things that would help with this case are frustrating, and all of the main characters are going through some personal relationship issues. I am pleased with this series. 

 This book is the personal account of Gerda Weissmann Klein, who survived the Nazi regime and three years inside a slave labor camp. This wasn't a terribly long book, but it was so moving. I cannot imagine having to endure what so many people did at the hands of the Nazis, and even just living through the war zone in Europe. I would highly, highly recommend this book. 

 This book is about a plane crash in 1972. A plane carrying a rugby team crashed into the Andes mountains. They were finally found ten weeks after the crash, having had to survive with no food, water, or shelter (other than the place wreckage). Unfortunately, only sixteen of the forty five were found alive. They went through unfathomable things to try to stay alive. I cannot imagine being in the position that they found themselves in. This was a tragic story, and it was very inspiring to see how much life means to people. 

 This is the personal account of the author, who was only thirteen years old when she lost her family and began saving other Jewish people from being deported. She helped other Jews to get to safe houses, and get out of the spotlight to live freely elsewhere. After the war, she even helped get people through all the hassles and red tape into Palestine. This was a very dramatic book, and I really enjoyed reading about her courage and determination in the face of death. 

 Alice Roosevelt was the eldest daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Her mother died not long after her birth, breaking her father's heart so much that he refused to allow her name to be mentioned in the house. She had a strained relationship with her stepmother, Edith, but did eventually concede that they shared the same sense of humor and interest in literature. Alice was very independent, and extremely outspoken. I love that about her. Despite the fact that she was the daughter of a President and a socialite in a wealthy society, she was her own person. She had a controversial and fiery spirit that makes me love her immediately. She eventually married Nicholas Longworth, who would eventually become Speaker of the House. Their politics differed, she was loyal to her father and campaigned against her husband and his cohorts. This caused a rift in their marriage. She had an affair with another politician, who is openly reported to be the true father of her daughter. (Her daughter eventually died from an overdose of sleeping pills.) She made a lot of interjections into the world of politics and rubbed elbows and influenced some really big names. She was also cantankerous enough to live to the age of 96, which I think is wonderful.

I didn't know much about Alice, other than a few comments that President Roosevelt made about her. Namely, "I can tend to Alice, or I can run the country. I cannot possibly do both." This book was well written and well researched, and really conveyed a lot of information about Alice and her life. You really can get a sense of her personality through this book. I was left with the distinct impression that I would have really liked this woman, and I wish that I could have met her. It's also very interesting to me that she was the daughter of President Roosevelt and lived long enough to become acquainted with the Kennedy family, meet Queen Elizabeth II, and a host of other big names. She lived an action packed life in the world of politics. This was a really good book. 

 Alfred Irenee du Pont was born in 1864 in Delaware. He was born into the Du Pont de Nemours Gunpowder family. His mother was committed to an asylum when he was a teenager, dying shortly after. His father followed not much longer from tuberculosis. He did attended school, leaving to run the family business. He submitted a lot of patents, which I found really interesting to read about. Of course, this book covers a lot more than that of his life, including all of his marriages and financial troubles. He died in 1935, at the age of 70.

This book was a massive tome, something like 800 pages. I was never bored reading it, however, and the research was well done. I picked this book up for a dollar at my local used bookstore and it has been on my list for a while. I am slowly working through the unread books on my shelf and this one just happened to be next. I was interested in it because there is a Du Pont chemical factory in my city, and I had always wondered about the company and family that created it. This was a really informative book, and I always do enjoy reading about family dynasties. 

 Alexandra Feodorovna, (Princess Alix of Hesse and Rhine), was born in 1872 in the German Empire. She was the daughter of Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria of Ireland and Great Britain. Her father was Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. She was one of Queen Victoria's favorite grandchildren. She was considered to be a very beautiful girl. She was quite shy, and often shut down around people when she felt uncomfortable. She was also extremely religious and was really unsure about switching religions to marry Nicholas II. As a child, she contracted diphtheria. One sister was away at the time, escaping the outbreak. Alexxandra, three sisters, her brother, and her father all wound up contracting diphtheria. Her mother, Alice, did not. She died when Alexandra was six. One sister also died.

Alexandra married Nicholas II in 1894. During the coronation, a group of people were trampled to death trying to watch the events. Alexandra and Nicholas were horrified. She was very unpopular amongst the people, partly because she arrived so soon after the death of the former Tsar. She was considered a bad omen. They also did not care for her attitude, not understanding that she was quite shy. She did not host parties and events like her predecessors, because she wasn't into the drama and love affairs that seemed to be rampant in the court. They also were unimpressed by how many daughters she had. The couple had Olga, Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia, and, one son, Alexei. Alexandra was not in the best of health, and many have suggested that she suffered from Grave's Disease, though that has never been proven. She was also a carrier for hemophilia, passing it to her son, Alexei. In an effort to help Alexei, she became involved with Rasputin, a creep by all measures. Of course, we all know what happened to the family during World War I and the Russian Revolution, so I will not get into that.

As far as the book itself goes, I learned a decent amount Alexandra and her family. I noticed a few other reviews that complained about the author using familiar names, such as Alix and Nicky, which I also found a bit familiar. This is not the only author to use those particular familiar names, so I assume that must be common. I am by no means an expert in Russian history, so I cannot say if that is inappropriate or not. It just struck me as uncommon compared to other historical biographies that I have read. I think that Alexandra was very misunderstood and her actions were taken the wrong way. I would imagine it would be difficult to be brought up one way and marry into a completely different culture and expectations. I feel that this book offered a lot of detail and personal information about Alexandra, her family, and her reign. 

 Ron Chernow is one of my favorite historians. All of his work is factual and well researched. Hamilton was no exception. I have had this book on my shelf for quite some time, and finally decided to settle in to read it, in part because of my friend's obsession with the musical. I remember learned about Hamilton and the treasury very briefly in middle school, and this book was packed full of things I never knew. I enjoyed this book very much, and am looking forward to finishing up another of Chernow's books that I have on Audible. 

 Gitta Sereny got to know Albert Speer and spent several years in communication with him. Albert Speer was the architect and Armaments Minister for Hitler and the Nazi party. He wrote his own memoir and seemed to be very open and honest, and probably was about a lot of things. I do not think that he was completely honest with his knowledge of certain activities. I think that Gitta did a great job trying to encourage him to confront facts and be honest about them. I have another book by her that was also very good and in depth. 

 This is about a spy called Eddie Chapman. He was trained as a German spy in France, and was dropped in Britain via parachute to do some sabotage spy activities. He contacted the secret service and became a double agent. It was a really interesting story, and very complicated. I really enjoyed reading this book.