Vera May Atkins was born in Romania in 1908. Her name at birth was Vera May Rosenberg. She attended the Sorbonne, as well as a finishing school. She emigrated to Great Britain with her mother after the unfortunate death of her father, in part because of the worsening political situation in Romania and other parts of Europe for people of Jewish descent. Vera began working for the British government during World War II, thanks to her secretarial skills. How she evolved from secretary to spy was very interesting, but I do not want to spoil the story for those who wish to read it. Vera was a very keen and resourceful woman, and I enjoyed learning about her very much.

For some reason, in the past couple of years, I have picked up several books about spies during World War II. Anyone with half a brain knows that there are always covert operations and shady doings during war time...and any other time...but I hadn't realized there were this many books about the topic that I had yet to come across. This book was very entertaining and informative. I thought the story of Vera was wildly interesting. The research was well done, and the book was written in a way that gave you the facts while keeping your attention, which I always appreciate when reading a nonfiction book. People get turned off about reading nonfiction because they hate a dry recitation of facts, which I totally understand. This book was not one of those. If you are into spies, check this book out. It is currently free to listen to on Audible Plus, which is where I got my copy. 

 The Troubles refers to the conflicts that took place (mostly) in Northern Ireland, beginning in the 1960's. The conflict is often thought of as a religious conflict, and while there were certainly religious aspects, it was not all based around religion. Ireland was divided into two regions: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Unionists, who happened to be mostly Protestant, wanted Northern Ireland to remain joined with the United Kingdom. Those who did not, mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and become one. These political issues led to religious discrimination and conflicts, thus leading those who aren't local to believe it was a religious conflict. One of the most interesting and shocking things that I learned in this book was that these paramilitary organizations were in the business of kidnapping folks, who were/or were thought to be informants, and killed them before burying them in secret locations. I was familiar with the violence and bombings, but not that. Over 3,000 people died because of these conflicts.

This book has been suggested a thousand times in the book group that I am in. This is not on the list of books that I have pre-selected to read for my 2023 Reading Challenge, but I am currently ahead of schedule on that, so I figured I could cram one more in. I have been working a lot on my ancestry lately and have found several ancestors that came over from various places in locations in what is now Northern Ireland. Obviously, they came over before the events in this book, but I thought it would be a good way to understand more about that region. It was a real combination of factors that led me to pick this book up at the library, and I have to admit that I am not disappointed with that decision.

The content was very interesting, and the writing style was both faced paced and engaging. Despite it being a nonfiction book, it had plenty of murder and mayhem and really read like a well researched historical fiction mystery novel. (Which is not what I typically read, but it was a nice change of pace from some of the slower paced items that I have been reading.) I learned a great deal about the conflict between Protestant and Catholic groups, which is one of the reasons some of my ancestors wound up coming over. It was very eye opening to see that bodies are being discovered up into recent years. I think a lot of people, especially if they are not from Europe, mistake this conflict as a strictly religious conflict, and it was not. That was probably my biggest takeaway from this book. I went into reading it properly misguided, so this was an extremely beneficial book for me in a lot of ways. If you are wanting to learn more about Ireland, or the Troubles, this would be a wonderful book to start with. 

 There are many books that have been written about World War I, as well as the immediate post-war years with regards to the pandemic. To briefly discuss the pandemic, I will say that The Great Flu encompassed the entire globe in something like four months. That is extremely fast moving, but with the transport of military from many countries...not a shock. Over 650,000 people died from this flu in the United States alone. Prohibition is widely researched and discussed as well. I have not, as of yet, ran across very many books about the in-between period, which is why I have been so excited to get ahold of this book. This country was in the middle of some real turmoil, imagine that! There were many assaults against immigrants and minority groups. (Yes, including Jewish people.) White nationalism was exceptionally high, and proudly displayed. Anti-immigrant rhetoric and sentiment was also proudly displayed. The paranoia of the United States government was higher than it had been in some time, which trickled down into the masses and caused absolute chaos. This period was grim and miserable, and nothing about this made the United States look as good as people like to think it does. (Certainly, there are worse places to live with less freedom and rights, but to tout a country as ThE gReAtEsT when the house is never kept clean is a little bit ridiculous...)

It is striking how much of this book translates into the current climate in the United States. It really is true that history had a tendency to repeat itself, because people (in power) have no desire to learn from anything and educate themselves and the people that vote them in do not (often) care about their policies and simply vote based on political party. (If you follow me and my reviews, I am sure you know about my disdain for political parties, so don't act shocked that I said that.) This book has a pandemic (influenza), horrible actions against minority groups, immigration issues, government fanning the flames of unrest and hatred, and multiple issues with factual reporting and the banning of publications. If that doesn't seem familiar to you, especially if you are a citizen of the United States currently, you must live life with your eyeballs welded shut. It's wild to see so many of these issues going on 100 years ago and now seeing that we are essentially no better off.

As far as the book goes, it was very well researched. I have read another book by this author, which I very much enjoyed, and I am pleased to say that I was not let down at all by this new book. I have been wanting to read it for a while, and happened to see it on the library's newer released display. I snatched it up, along with another book I had been waiting to read. (The other book by this author is King Leopold's Ghost.) I appreciate the way he is able to dive into these topics in a way that is respectful of the people that were affected negatively, and still maintain and educational narrative that is gripping. I could hardly stand to put this down to do other things that I needed to do, because I was very engaged with it. This book is a giant, flashing red siren of warning about how events can devolve further, and I think it would benefit a lot of people if they would read this with some manner of basic comprehension. Highly recommend! 

 On May 10th through May 11th, 1996, a blizzard hit Mount Everest while several people were attempting to reach the summit. Over that climbing season, twelve people had died trying to reach the summit, and eight of those died in this particular blizzard. The expedition was led by Rob Hall and two other guides, Mike Groom and Andy Harris. There were eight clients on this trip, including the author of this book, Beck Weathers. The other clients were Jon Krakauer, John Taske, Yasuko Namba, Stuart Hutchinson, Doug Hansen, Frank Fischbeck, and Lou Kasischke. There were also eight sherpas. There was another climbing expedition at this time as well, but those aforementioned people were the ones in the group with the author of this book. There were several delays in the climb, which directly impacted the location of the climbers when the blizzard hit them. All of the people on the mountain were affected by this, and the author's group suffered some losses due to exposure and/or falling. I am very interested in things like this, but after reading this book, and others like it, I have no desire whatsoever to be a mountain climber.

I checked this book out from my library on a whim, because they didn't have either of the two books I went there to get. I love a disaster book, and I am also a big fan of memoirs, so this was right up my alley. I finished this a couple of days ago, and am a bit late to getting around to writing this review, but nevertheless. This would be a good book for those of you who like disasters, or are interested in mountain climbing. The book was obviously a personal experience, but it was well written and kept my attention. Despite the fact that it was about a disaster, it was an enjoyable book. 

 Drew Barrymore was born in Culver City, California in 1975. Her father was John Barrymore, another in a long line of theatrical types. (If you have not read about this family, they are pretty interesting. Especially if you are into shenanagins...there was a lot of cheating going on.) In addition to all of her famous family members, she has some pretty famous godparents. Her godmothers are Sophia Loren and Anna Strasberg. She had an exceptionally close relationship to Anna Strasberg, and commented many times about her kind heart. Her godfather is none other than Steven Spielberg. This book discusses many events throughout her childhood and career, and it was nice to learn about some things from the horse's mouth instead of through gossip magazines and websites. She had some really hard moments, and I think people forget that celebrities are human beings too. They have feelings, heartbreaks, successes, and failures. Despite living in the public eye, they do deserve some modicum of privacy. I like Drew's personality from what I have seen of her on her shows and in her interviews, and she seems like a very genuine person.

This book struck me as a very honest recollection of memories and experiences, and her personality came through in the writing. I do have to say that I did not like the formatting of the book, as it did a lot of flashback and flashforward. I would have preferred a chronological retelling. I picked this book up on a whim when I took my kids to the library, and this is actually not one of the books that I have preselected for my reading challenge this year. The librarian said it was really good, so I trusted her judgment and checked it out. I am not disappointed in this book at all, and I am glad I spent the time to read it. It was less than 300 pages, so if you are looking for a shorter memoir, this may be the one for you. 

 Huguette Clark was born in Paris, France in 1906. Her father was one of the founders of Las Vegas, a former Senator for Montana, and was into mining and railroad business. All of those things allowed him to accumulate a pretty decent fortune, allowing Huguette to see a lot of the world, have access to higher education, and live in a pretty massive mansion. Upon the death of her father, Clark and her mother moved into rooms at a hotel, which Clark expanded greatly until it took up the whole floor. She lived a very interesting life, and was a very decent artist. She also had a large art collection, and she had exquisite taste in what she collected. She owned different properties, which she maintained, despite rarely visiting them. I wish that her properties would have met with a different end, but it is what it is.

I love old houses and historic homes, which is why I was interested in this book. While I did enjoy reading about these massive and amazing properties, I also very much enjoyed learning about Huguette Clark. She was a tremendously wealthy woman, due in large part to her inheritance, and it is always very interesting to see what wealthy people choose to do with their money. Her personal collections were awesome, from what I was able to uncover on Google. Her philanthropy was also a very interesting thing to learn about. She gave a pretty large sum to create a bird sanctuary named after her sister, and she gifted a great deal of money to her private nurse in her later years, as well as her attorney. Upon her death, the magnitude of her wealth and assets shocked me when it was listed during the execution of her will. This was truly a fascinating story about an elusive heiress. I am so glad I finally got to this book, and encourage anyone who is interested in family dynasties or wealthy people to read this. 

 Elizabeth Stuart, Queen Of Bohemia is often referred to as The Winter Queen. I was not aware she was called that until I got this book, and learned it was due to the reign of her husband, Frederick V, only lasting for one winter. She was the daughter of James I, who was Mary, Queen of Scots' son. During the Gunpowder Plot, she was meant to be kidnapped and used as a puppet Queen. This was all new and interesting information to me. The book mainly focuses on her daughters, however, who were extremely interesting people in their own right.

Princess Elisabeth of Palatinate was the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Stuart. She had a pretty fantastic education for a woman of the time, receiving education in history, astronomy, mathematics, and languages. She eventually became an abbess, and was a deeply religious person. Her relationships were not at all what I expected them to be, and I really enjoyed learning about her. Princess Louise Hollandine of Palatinate became an exceptionally gifted artist, painting very detailed and wonderful works. Princess Henriette Marie of Palatinate was the only sister who married into a royal household, with her wedding to the brother of the Prince of Transylvania. My most favorite sister to learn about was Princess Sophia of Palatinate, Electress of Hanover. She was actually set to take the throne of Britain and Ireland, but died before that was possible, leaving her son to take her place. (That would be King George I.) Her personality was amazing, and I feel like I would have really liked her if I would have known her in person, or at least been entertained by her passion and wit.

I knew absolutely nothing about any of these people, and picked this book up strictly because I found the author on Twitter. She is very fun to interact with, and I was happy to buy her books and support her work. She is a wonderful writer, and does her research well. I learned so much from this book. I really enjoyed it. If you are looking to learn more about the descendants of Mary, Queen of Scots, you should really check this book out. 

 Post- World War II, Germany was divided between the Allied powers. Berlin was inside the area that was controlled by the Soviet Union, and there were concerns that Berlin would be absorbed and turned communist. Britain and the United States were especially concerned about this happening in the aftermath of World War II. Soviet forces implemented a blockade on rail, water, and road access to the other Allied powers, who then responded by airlifting supplies into Berlin. This whole situation really furthered the division between Eastern and Western Europe, and was one of the major kicking off points for the Cold War and Red Scare that was to come.

This book contained interviews and service records from the people who were involved in the Berlin Airlift, which I found very interesting and extremely valuable. One of the things I love the most about being a nonfiction reader and a historian is the use of personal accounts and historical documents. This book was exceptionally done, the research was on point, the storytelling was informative and educational. I really enjoyed this book, even though it was in the World War II section of my bookstore and it should have been shelved elsewhere. I have another book by this author that is on my reading list for the 2023 Reading Challenge this year, and I am very excited to get to it after reading this one. 

 Anna Nicole Smith was born in Texas in 1967. She began her career with Playboy in 1992, and did some modeling work for Guess Jeans around the same time. During this time period, she adopted her stage name of Anna Nicole, getting rid of her birth name of Vickie Lynn. She did a considerable amount of modeling work, being featured in several magazines and ad campaigns. I actually remember her from her role on Ally McBeal and The Anna Nicole Show. Of course, her marriage to her considerably older husband, J. Howard Marshall was all over the media at the time when I first became aware of her. Before she died, her son, Daniel, died, which caused her great emotional pain. She was never quite the same after that, and most believe that her drug use began or escalated terribly around that time, resulting in her own death.

This book posits that the author is a person who knew Anna Nicole Smith the best. In fact, the author is her estranged half sister, with whom she had little to no relationship. Being related to someone via blood does not mean that you have an intimate relationship with them and are able to speak about their lives and their secrets. I have very little to do with a lot of my family members, and though they may be able to comment on my childhood, they certainly know nothing about me, my family, or my life now. The author of this book included interviews with Anna Nicole's brother, who seemed much less like he was trying to cash in on his famous sibling's name and death than the actual author of the book. This was more a book about the life of Donna Hogan and how she thought and felt than anything substantial about Anna Nicole. In addition to the fact that Donna Hogan had plenty of opinions and conflicting feelings about her family and experiences, which she should have worked out in therapy instead of writing this book, the book was poorly written. It was poorly edited. It was just not enjoyable at all to read, even for whatever tell-all gossip she tried to include.

I rarely rate things one or zero stars, and I rarely regret taking time to read something, but here we are. I grabbed this book on a whim last week when I went to the library and they didn't have the books I was looking for. I remember Anna Nicole Smith being on tv and remember her dying, so I thought this would be an interesting book. It wasn't very long either, so that was another selling point. If I could turn back time.... I am sure that there are more interesting books on Anna Nicole Smith out there somewhere for anyone interested in her, but I would skip this one if I were you. 

 Hermann Goering was captured by United States forces in 1945, at the end of the war. He was removed to Luxembourg, and placed in detention at a formerly luxurious hotel. The hotel had been stropped of all luxury, however, and Goering found himself living in pretty stark accommodations. To ensure that all of the prisoners were fit to stand trial in Nuremburg, the military sent an army psychiatrist to tend to their mental health needs. In reality, that meant he could speak with all of these high profile Nazis at length and determine what it was about them that got them into the shenanagins they got in, how they managed to be so cruel or ignore cruelty, how they became subservient to a megalomaniac, and keep them from hanging themselves with their bed sheets. Kelley developed a very interesting relationship with these people, and especially with Goering.

This book is currently available to listen to on Audible Plus, which is where I got my copy. I have been listening to it over the past several nights, which as been great for helping me reach my reading challenge goal since I have had the absolute worst time sleeping lately. I did not learn anything new from this book, because this is a topic that I have read about many times, as well as written a paper on during my college courses. (I majored in World History, with a concentration in European History, and a specialization in World War II history. Hermann Goering is a topic that was thoroughly addressed.) Despite that, it was a very interesting book, and a great refresher on the guarding situation and the communications between Goering and Dr. Kelley. This book had a lot of Kelley's notes included, which is very useful for reference material. I found this book to be very well written, and I wish I would have had it a few years ago when I could have used this for bibliography and research for my course work.