Heinz Linge was the personal valet of Adolf Hitler for ten years. He did all the typical functions of a valet that one would think about from other formal homes. He was also responsible for guarding the door while Hitler completed his suicide. He offers a lot of personal asides about Hitler and his behavior. I think this is a very important book, and I am glad to have it in my collection. 

 This was a well researched and well written book about the events in Salem, Massachusetts. I would love to go to Salem and see the places mentioned in this book, and I hope to be able to do that one day. The whole concept of witch trials all over the world is baffling to me. People who were supposed to have superior moral compasses were the ones who didn't seem to have one at all. The Salem witch trials got completely out of hand. It was terrible to read about all of this, but this was a very, very good book 

 This is the book that the Goodfellas screenplay was based on. This is a true crime book by Nicholas Pileggi that focuses on the life and crimes of Henry Hill. Fun fact, there is a piece of artwork done by Henry Hill that is on display at the Alcatraz East Crime Museum here in Tennessee. This was a great book, and I also loved the film. 

 This book is about former criminal, Charlie Wilhelm. He wrote this tell all book about his life of crime, and his decision to quit the life of crime. He also details his activities of infiltration and snitching. This was an okay read. 

 I have no idea why I bought this book, because I absolutely cannot stand that Camilla. At any rate, this is a pretty good look into the relationship of Prince Charles and Camilla. While I dislike that woman, I do not think she was entirely at fault for the failure of Charles and Diana's marriage. Charles and Camilla knew each other and had something going for a while before he decided to marry Diana. He got married for the wrong reasons, and was not interested in being a proper husband to her, because his interests lay elsewhere. It was a terrible situation, but the blame should not be places solely on Camilla's shoulders. Even if she is a distasteful person. The book was alright, certainly not my favorite 

 The amount of disgust I felt while reading this book....I am simply unable to express using the written word. I learned a lot from it, and it was hard to put down, so I suppose it served the purpose it was meant to. I am glad to have it in my collection.

Calumet Farm was founded by William Monroe Wright in 1924. The farm originally was for the breeding and harness racing of Standardbreds. (This is also a really fun sport. The only horse race I have been able to watch in person was at Bluegrass Downs where they were doing some harness racing.) William Monroe Wright's son took over the farm and converted it to Thoroughbred breeding and racing. A lot of big name horses came out of this farm: Whirlaway, Citation, Pensive, and Alydar just to name a few. Unfortunately, Alydar is one of the centers of this book. Most racing fans know what happened to Alydar, as well as the speculation and controversy surrounding his "accident" and death. The granddaughter and her sorry, shady, piece of absolute TRASH husband took over the farm after the death of her grandparents (her father died before her grandmother). That husband was irresponsible, disgusting, and crude. He put a multi million dollar business into bankruptcy, did his best to blacken the family name and achievements, and put a horrible stain on horse racing. What happened to Alydar was NOT an accident, in my opinion, by any stretch of the imagination. He was a swindler and a rascal. Absolutely disgusting. Calumet was auctioned off and taken over by Henryk Kwiatkowski for $17 million dollars. He returned the grounds and business to a reputable standard, which is the farm I grew to know. Currently, the farm is ran by his family and trustees.

Growing up, Calumet Farm was a name that I knew well. They had some really amazing horses that I enjoyed seeing run. I never knew the sordid part of the farm's history, as it was well over by the time I was old enough to get into horses and racing. After reading this, I wound up on social media, where I saw some posts from Calumet. I felt absolutely disgusted, knowing the things that happened. I really had to sit and have a chat with myself about the rationality of that. It was just completely disgraceful. I hope very much that the new owners can continue the uphill climb and high standards. I wish that I could tour this farm when I am in Kentucky in a few months to see other racing sites, though I think I would be very emotional about it. 

 Winston and Clementine Churchill wrote to each other constantly over their fifty seven year relationship. Winston was often away on business, or she was off at other locations doing things. Especially during wartime. The letters offered a real personal look at their relationship. Their style of communication and conversation was really awesome to see. 

 I found this book at the used bookstore for .75, and I got it because I love horses. This memoir was about a woman who was gifted some wild Brumby horses from a lady she knew. It was interesting to follow her journey from spotting the herd in a helicopter to catching and taming them. For the price I paid, it was an okay book. I usually prefer books about horse racing, so this wasn't my favorite horse book that I own. 

 I got a copy of this book for one dollar at the thrift store, and it has been signed by James Earl Ray. In this book, James Earl Ray describes his theories of how the government assassinated Martin Luther King, and framed him for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There were parts of the book that were very interesting that related to the life and activities of Ray, but I just do not buy his whole conspiracy theory track. For those who are interested in conspiracies, this may be a book for you. 

 This book was very informative. I learned so much about the types of people that came to colonize the United States. I didn't know about the colonies in North and South Carolina and the people who lived in them. Class is such a bizarre topic for me to wrap my head around, but it is something that infiltrates all societies. I thought this book was well written and well researched.