While many works about the Romanov family discusses their unfortunate demise in 1918, this particular one chooses to focus more on the lives of each of the Romanov daughters. Maria, Anastasia, Tatiana, and Olga were generally well thought of by those around them. I really enjoyed the look into their personalities as individuals, rather than tragic murdered historical figures. This book featured personal correspondence that really left an impression about what they were like as people.

Helen Rappaport is a noted historian of Russian history. She has authored several book about Imperial Russia, all of which are exquisitely researched. Her attention to detail and her ability to tell the story in a way that grips and educated the reader are something that I appreciate immensely. I think I have one book left to read of hers, and I am greatly looking forward to it. If you are interested in the Romanov family, I would strongly recommend her books on the subject. 

 Alice de Janze was born Alice Silverthorne, the daughter of textile industrialist William Silverthorne and Armour meatpacking family member Marietta Armour Chapin. She was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1899. She met and married Frederic de Janze, a French racing driver, in 1921. The couple became friends with Lord and Lady Erroll, who invited them to visit their estate in Kenya, Africa. The community of Happy Valley in Kenya was a place where many wealthy Europeans went to party. Sexual liaisons and drug use were common, and Alice happily entered into an affair with Lord Erroll. She also had an affair with another man, and was very open about it. Unfortunately for her, Lord Erroll was found murdered in 1941. Alice was looked at as a suspect, due to their public affair. I will not spoil the story any further, but it was an interesting one.

I had never heard of Alice or the murder of Lord Erroll before I found this book. I got it at my favorite used bookstore, and picked it up because I like gossip, scandal, and murder. There were a couple of things I am not sure I agree with that this author wrote in this book, namely surrounding the death of Alice's mother. I have read other reviews who say a similar thing. Overall, the book was well written and entertaining. It is fairly short, under 300 pages. If you like scandal from elite's, this might be right up your alley. 

 This book discusses women who have led nations in politics and warfare. It features several notable women in history, including Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, and Isabella of Spain. I did not, however, expect Margaret Thatcher to be among those included in this book. Each of the women were discussed an appropriate amount of time for the length of the book, though I did see another review that said Boadicea was discussed too much...and I do not disagree with that assessment.

I have always enjoyed Antonia Fraser's work, and I am a bit sad to be almost to the end of the unread books of hers that I have. She is a wonderful writer, and I appreciate her contributions to the historical narrative. This book is not written in the vein of Princesses Behaving Badly or some other such book with short stories for people with a passing interest in history. It is written in a heavier historical style, typical of this author. I also liked that this book had some humorous moments included in it, and gave a side of some of these women's personalities that I hadn't yet been exposed to. It's nice to have a bit of humor mixed in sometimes. 

Mike Reiss is a television writer, who focuses mostly on comedic writing. He studied at Harvard University, even writing on the Harvard Lampoon. While at Harvard, Reiss met another Simpsons alum, Al Jean. Reiss lets us into his life and how he got on his career path, though it seems as if he came from a family full of funny people. Reiss provides an humorous look into the writing room on one of the longest running animated shows in television history. There were inside stories about some of the guest stars on the show, the main cast, and ideas that never made it to the screen. 

If you are a Simpsons fan, I would strongly suggest checking out this book. I personally have the Audible version, which is listed at 7 hours. I have my speed up, so it was just a bit over 6 hours. I listened to this over two days. I loved hearing some of the behind the scenes stories from one of my favorite comfort shows. 

 This book has wonderful stories about pets belonging to members of royal families. I found the hardback edition of this at my favorite local used bookstore, and was pleased to see that it contains illustrations of the pets in question. My favorite little dog stories were about the Dachshunds. (Probably because I currently have three of them.) It was a cute book and did contain some relevant historical information for those interested in royal families. 

 My internet has been out for a week and a half, so I am lacking in book reviews and catching up on homework. If you are a follower of my reviews, I apologize for the flood of them you are about to receive. I certainly got plenty of reading done while living in the Stone Age.

This book discusses the relationship between Catherine de Medici, wife of Henri II of France, and her daughter Marguerite de Valois. Catherine's story itself is full of shady doings and intrigue. If you have watched the show Reign, that is a dramatized introductory into her conniving and manipulation. Marguerite had a different personality than her mother, often causing clashes. Catherine forced Marguerite to marry Henry III of Navarre. Their marriage was particularly controversial, as it was between a Roman Catholic and a Huguenot. Despite the difference in religion, Henry was a relative and from a French royal house, and this marriage was meant to strengthen ties and good relationships between the two royal houses. Right after the wedding, Catholics wound up murdering some of the Huguenots that were in Paris for the festivities, resulting in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Catherine's actions surrounding this are questionable at best. This was a really wild series of events, and made for some dramatic reading.

The author of this book is a wonderful writer. I have enjoyed her work, and I also enjoyed interacting with her on a human level before I joined the exodus from Twitter. She conducts her research in a thorough and methodical way, and tells the story of her subjects in a way that is informative and engaging. I had known about Catherine Medici and Marguerite's relationship prior to reading this book, but the details presented included some facts I didn't know and provided more in depth details to supplement my previously learned facts. This was a little longer than some of the other books that I selected for this month, coming in at just over 400 pages, but wasn't a slow paced read. Certainly worth checking out. 

 This book is the sequel to the first Vietnam memoir by Harold G. Moore, We Were Soldiers Once...And Young. In this book, the author and his friend, Joseph Galloway, return to Vietnam to see what changes have taken place in the years since he was there. They meet up with some other veterans and discuss their experiences during their time in the country. They also met with some of their former enemies, also discussing how the conflict had affected lives on that side as well.

This book is less than 300 pages, so if you are interested in a fairly short book about Vietnam, consider this one. I enjoyed both of the memoirs written by this author. I thought the details in which important experiences were described were well done. They provided an accurate amount of horror and were emotionally charged, but also providing some historical context for those who are not terribly familiar with Vietnam. I wish that I would have read the two books closer together, so if you have not read either, my suggestion would be to read them both at once. 

 The Great Hurricane of 1938 hit New England on September 21, 1938. There is some dispute about whether it was a Category 4 or 5, but the damage and lives lost make that distinction a bit irrelevant, in my opinion. There were between 600-800 fatalities, as some bodies were never recovered or were unable to be identified properly. Entire communities vanished in just a few hours. The details of the storm surge in this book were absolutely terrifying.

This book was a fairly short read, at just over 300 pages. The author did a terrific amount of research on weather and this particular event. I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of this book was a poem included about clothes being stolen by the gale force winds and a child's misery over his lost pants. The author did a good job on focusing on people and what happened to them without being excessively grim or insensitive, as can happen sometimes when discussing natural disasters. This was one of the better disaster books I have read in some time. 

 Sasha Velour is the season 9 winner of Ru Paul's Drag Race. Sasha has done many things other than perform, including graphic design, costume design, and producing various entertainment projects. One interesting thing that I learned was that she performs with a shaved head as a tribute to her mother who died of cancer. I also thought it was amazing that she had such a supportive experience with her family in regards to her drag and just her sexuality in general.

I bought the Audible version of this book. If you are interested in that, it was about a six hour listen. If you are interested in the physical copy, it was less than 300 pages, I think. I got this simply because drag has been a debate recently, and I wanted to learn more about it and support the arts. I thought it was a great combination of a memoir of Sasha Velour and history of drag. I learned a decent amount from this book that I was not expecting to learn, and I am glad I gave this a shot. 

 This book focuses on the Astor family, specifically John Jacob Astor IV and William Waldorf Astor. The two were cousins with an indescribable amount of family wealth and status. There was information about other members of the Astor family included in this book, and it fit in well with the narrative and context of this story.

Unfortunately, this book was around 200 pages. If you are looking for a deep dive into the history of the Astor family or these two cousins, there are other books available that really get into it. On the plus side, it was a short read and is helping me reach my goal quickly. The author did leave me with a healthy idea of what kind of people these two were, as well as plenty of information about the hotels they build and other business endeavors. This book was recommended to me because of my interest in the Gilded Age, and I was not disappointed by it. I am not sure where I developed an interest in architecture from, but I have one.