I can't remember who suggested this book to me. Perhaps it was from a podcast that I listen to. This book was written by David Thibodeau, who was present at the Branch Davidian compound during the FBI raid. David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians, met David and they bonded over music. Eventually, David became a follower of Koresh, moving to the compound. He remained there until the raid. It was interesting to read an account from someone who knew Koresh, and who was inside the compound during the raid. The people who remained in the compound during the 51 day siege that was perpetrated by the FBI really went through a lot. So many people died during this event, and in such horrific ways. I cannot imagine how traumatized the survivors must still be. I hope that people have been able to find some peace and healing from this event. It is so interesting to read about what caught the attention of the followers of Koresh. 

 General Patton was a Four Star General with the United States Army, serving from 1909 to 1945. General Patton was a key figure in the United States military workings in Europe during World War II. He commanded several different divisions throughout his career, though his most important work was done commanding forces in the European Theatre. He was a very interesting character, and I thought perhaps some of his personality traits were exaggerations in other books that I have read, but having read his own personal words...they were not exaggerations. He could not stand cowardice, and he did not believe in post traumatic stress or "battle fatigue", leading him to slap a couple of his soldiers and order them back to the front. He was also quite racist, mostly against black people. (This was probably due to his upbringing, as we often absorb our attitudes from family members as children. That does not make it right, and he could have changed his outlook at any point and chose not to.) He was also very anti-Semitic, which I found to be pretty abhorrent. Some of the comments he made about people who had been displaced or released from camps were disgusting and obtuse, as though they had not been incarcerated in filthy conditions and worked and starved to the bone. He admired the fight of Russian soldiers, but not Russians in general. His thoughts on commanding and war tactics were really interesting to my history major heart, so I appreciated that he took the time to write about his experiences in war and get that put out before his "accident" that took his life.

I would suggest this book for anyone who is interested in World War II history or famous generals, but I would tell you to take some of the statements made by General Patton with a grain of salt. He was a fairly crass fellow in some regards. 

 The Want-Ad Killer features the crimes of one Harvey Louis Carignan, who was able to get out of a death sentence to continue his violent crimes that included rape and murder. I was a little bit misled by the title, which implied that Carignan found his victims through newspaper ads. He did find a few that way, in advertising for help for a gas station, but it appears that the majority of his victims were opportunistic ones, most notably stranded motorists or those trying to hitch rides. This book was written well before the advancement in the field of forensics, so there isn't much in the way of that. The persistence of the police force is pretty prominently featured, and it is a suspenseful read. Not one of my favorite Ann Rule books, but leaps and bounds better than the anthology type books. 

 I wish that I would have read the physical book, but I got this on Audible. I haven't really read a whole lot about the Pacific Theatre, and I was very interested in this book to hear the first hand accounts of those who were engaged in these battles. I love Adam Makos, and I was not disappointed in this book at all. I cannot wait for his next book to come out. 

 Rob Paulsen was born in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan. He entered the entertainment industry in 1983, becoming a voice actor on the GI Joe cartoon. He had roles in so many movies and television shows that I remember as a kid. I loved Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain! I often watched Ninja Turtles, The Tick, Tiny Toon Adventures, and all kinds of Cartoon Network shows. His career was very nearly sidelined when he received a diagnosis of throat cancer, which he discusses in this book.

I loved hearing the stories behind some of my favorite animated characters. I appreciate the candor with which the throat cancer was discussed. I think throat cancer would be absolutely horrendous, but how devastating that would be to learn you have that when your voice is your livelihood. This book is currently available on Audible Plus, and was a pretty short listen. (I got behind on updates because of my dog.) 

 I love that Anne Rice is so detailed in her descriptions of different eras and places. I love the detailed character backstories. Learning about a new character in this world of vampires was really great. I think that I preferred Pandora more, but I really wish she would write more books like this from points of view of different vampires. 

 I got this book to read because I planned to watch the television show that was based on this event, but I never got into the show. The book was fairly interesting, though you can tell there were some stereotypical ideas and phrases about gay identifying people. Overall, I thought the writing style was fine. The research and presentation was good. It was a pretty decent read. 

 I hate to say this about someone's life and personal experience, but I absolutely hated this book. I had to force myself to finish it, because I hate not finishing books that I start. This was by far the worst book I read for the entire 2019 reading challenge year. It was boring, and for a short book, long winded. I just don't have a nice thing to say about it, other than I am glad I didn't pay full price for it. 

 Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a primarily Protestant and Huguenot area of France. During World War II, the residents of this town, led by their pastors, decided to help out victims of the Nazis. They rescued members of various Allied militaries, fed them, hid them, and gave them aid. They rescued and aided members of the targeted demographics- resistance fighters, religious people of various religions, orphans, and especially Jewish people. They hid them in their own personal homes, in defiance of the Nazis and their cohort government in Vichy France. They fed and clothes these people, got them forged papers and ration cards, smuggled them out of super dangerous zones, and genuinely cared and wanted to help their fellow man. They did all of that at great personal risk, and some of them were even arrested by the Gestapo, sent to camps, and murdered.

I had never heard of this town or these people, and that is a crying shame. These people were of strong characters and morals, and even today the town is known for helping out those in need. Everyone needs to pick this book up and read it, becauses this is such an important part of World War II and French history, and an inspiration to just be a decent person and help out in anyway you can. I really enjoyed this book and learned so much about these awesome people. 

 Reverend George Browne Macdonald was born in 1805 in England. He was a Wesleyan Methodist minister. He had eleven children with Hannah Jones, but this book focuses on four of his daughters. Alice Macdonald married John Lockwood Kipling, and gave birth to a son that we would all come to know as Rudyard Kipling. Her son was actually born on the school campus where her husband was a Professor in arts. Georgina Macdonald married a painter, named Edward Burne-Jones. Agnes Macdonald married Edward Poynter, future president of the Royal Academy. She was also a talented pianist in her own right. Louisa Macdonald was a gifted writer, and married Alfred Baldwin. Her son, Stanley, would go on to be Prime Minister.

I had never heard of these women. They all had their own personalities and their own interests. I think we often do not think about the women behind the men or the mothers of famous people. I really enjoyed learning about this ladies and the contributions they made to their families and society. I picked this up, because I thought it was about Queen Victoria, but I am really pleased with my error.