Thermopylae is a town located in Greece. This town is home to a narrow passage that was once the site of a battle against extraordinary odds by the Greeks, who were attempting to stop a Persian invasion. The Greeks were largely lead by Spartan King Leonidas I, while the Persians were led by Xerxes I. This book gives a history of the events leading up to the battle, as well as what transpired during. I read this book for a project at school and found it to be very useful and informative. It also made me really want to watch the movie 300 again, which I enjoyed. 

 Darius I was a Persian King. He ruled from 522 to 486 BCE. During his reign, he encountered a series of revolts from all across the lands he absorbed into his kingdom. One of these revolts would eventually lead to the infamous Battle of Thermopylae, which the movie 300 is based off of. Darius I was the father of Xerxes I who would lead the drive to get revenge for his father against the revolting Greeks. This book was one I read for a paper I was writing in class, and it was full of useful information for that project. It was well written and was interesting to read, not at all a dry historical biography. 

 This book discusses the birth of various fast food and other eateries that serve hamburgers. I actually learned some pretty interesting facts about the advertisement wars between McDonalds, Wendys, and Burger King. This book was free to listen to on Audible Plus, and was around five hours to listen to. I listened to it this morning at work, and finished it just after lunch. I wasn't really sure I was going to enjoy it, but it did have some really good information in there. 

 This book covered the case of Harold and Ena Nokes, a couple accused of murdering their lover's parents. This case took place in Nebraska in 1973. Harold had been having an affair with the daughter of the murdered Edwin and Wilma Hoyt. The author of this book discusses the relationships between the couples, and the events leading up to the murders. This book is available to listen to on Audible Plus, and was around four hours to listen to. The paperback copy is about 160 pages. 

 This book was one that I read for an assignment a couple of weeks ago and never got around to reviewing. I found the information about the Black Death to be particularly useful. The author was very knowledgeable about the plague and the time period in general. 

 Machiavelli was a noted philosopher, historian, and diplomat during the Renaissance era. His life experience, growing up in a tumultuous time when the Holy Roman Empire was warring with France and Spain over control of the region, opened his eyes to corruption and political intrigue. His service in the political sphere further opened his eyes to machinations behind the scenes and what those in power, or who wished to be in power, could do or hide to achieve what they wanted. Living through these historical times allowed him to write about goings on in real time, leaving a historical record of experience for generations to come. His most famous work, The Prince, outlines these very ideas. The work has been considered controversial because it reads as a how-to manual for taking absolute power over an area and the people who inhabit it. There is a lot of discussion surrounding Machiavelli’s insistence that violence and intrigues are just simply a way to an end. This book follows the life of Machiavelli from birth to death, discussing his personal and public life.

I cannot say that this is a book that I would have chosen to read on my own, as I have little to no interested in this person. This was a book that I read as a reference for a paper I had to write, coupled with his book The Prince. This book was well written and contained a lot of useful facts for me to cite in the paper. It painted a good picture about life during the Renaissance, which I also appreciated for my paper. If you are interested in this person, this was a good book. 

 Machiavelli was a philosopher, historian, and diplomat. He lived in Florence during the Renaissance. This book was written as sort of a political science/history book, and his view points are articulated quite clearly. He posited that politics revolved around backstabbing, intrigue, and selfishness...which, given my experience in politics since I have been an adult of voting age, I cannot disagree with. At times, this reads like an instructional booklet on how to gain absolute power, which translates (to me) as a parade of red flags. I can identify a lot of things that occur in modern times that were written about in this book.

I had absolutely no interest in reading this, which likely affected my outlook on the book. This was required for an assignment that I had due this week for my Renaissance and Reformation class, which is the only reason I forced myself to read it at all. Apparently, people highly enjoyed this book, but, alas, I am not one of them. I am horrifically burned out on political arguments and enjoy reading things not involving that as somewhat of a mental break. This was just not in my realm of interest at all, and I am not pleased about having to read it. If you are into this type of content and have not yet read this classic, by all means, go for it. I will absolutely not be reading this again. 

The purpose of this book is to discuss the role of the Chinese in setting off the European Renaissance. I got this book and another by this author at my used bookstore here in Chattanooga. I decided to go ahead and finish this one, as it had been on my shelf for some time and I am currently in a class about the Renaissance. I believe that the Chinese played a large role in a lot of things, with their technological advances and trade. I think this could have been a much more plausible book if the author wasn't a space cadet. 

I would actually rate this zero stars, which is not something I normally say. The only salvation for this book was that it did have an interesting concept, and there were a few parts of the book that caught my interest and I made a note to look further into. This book was the absolute worst book I have read so far this year...so out of 50. I found this book to be nearly mind-numbingly boring. 

 Aly Raisman was born in 1994. She was placed in gymnastics when she was a year and a half old. She found a love for the sport, training and competing throughout her childhood and teen years. She was very talented, winning several medals. She competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, where she won several medals. Raisman was a victim of Larry Nassar, and spoke out about his abuse. Her continued activism in sexual assault is inspiring and courageous.

My sister is the gymnastics fan in my life, where I prefer figure skating. I watched the 2016 Olympics with her and was very impressed by Raisman's talent and tenacity. She was a beautiful athlete to watch and seems to have a beautiful spirit as well. I enjoyed reading this book and learning about her struggled and her career. 

 This book was very well written and the research was top notch. There is a lot of information in this book that I was already famililar with, being a history major that specializes in World War II history. I found the most valuable parts of the book to be those regarding American interests. I haven't read much about the American support of things, beyond a few companies. I have read some other reviews about this book, and there seems to be a staggering number of people who had no idea about the companies and big names involved with the Nazis. Some of the world's favorite brands have some really shady pasts.