This book was about Kate and Maggie Fox, two sisters who allegedly had the ability to converse with spirits from beyond the grave. I picked up this book, because I always read paranormal things and watch all of the paranormal shows. I thought their story was interesting, and I did like learning about the Spiritualism movement. 

 This book brings the focus back to Lestat and his quest to regain some of his humanity. He makes an effort to limit his victims to criminals. He is having dreams about Claudia, who we met in Interview With The Vampire. Lestat is lonely and in the throes of some type of depression. Lestat winds up in a terrible predicament when he switches bodies with a devilish creature. Marius becomes angry at Letstat because of this, who must scheme and plot to attempt to recover is vampiric body. I said that Queen of the Damned was my least favorite of the series, but this one moved to the top of the least favorite list. It wasn't a bad book, but it was just not my favorite so far. 

 Switzerland maintained that they were a neutral country during World War II. I would imagine that even back then, people knew they were not. They did not technically engage in the war as a combatant, but they certainly helped it along. The Swiss acquired 79% of all German gold delivered to foreign countries, with 90% of that ending up in the Swiss National Bank and the remainder in commercial banks. Royalties from Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler's memoir, were deposited in Swiss banks, as well as personal funds from Nazis. Stolen artwork and stolen money from Jewish (and other) victims were deposited in these banks, mostly never to be returned to their owners or next of kin. They exchanged money into currency that was useable by Axis powers, especially Germany. They also facilitated anti-Semitism and blocking Jewish immigration into their country, especially during the war years.

Since the end of World War II, next of kin have been trying to retrieve monies that were transferred into accounts before the onset of war. Swiss banks didn't like Jewish people, but had no problem accepting Jewish money. Swiss banks refuse to come off it, demanding a death certificate. Unfortunately, many people were murdered fighting in the resistance, starving in ghettos, or murdered in concentration camps. More often than not, death certificates were not provided. They also deny having any stolen artwork, antiques, or other items in their vaults, which has almost been determined with certainty to be lies.

I watched a documentary about this on Hulu (I think) a while back, and it was mentioned that they still continue to do these types of things. They were benefitting from events in the Congo (genocide) and other shady money practices. Of course, we have all heard that criminals and rich people have offshore accounts in Swiss banks to prevent their money from being taxed or seized. Switzerland is a beautiful country that I would love to visit, and the people in general seem like nice people. Banks and governments often get up to shady doings that the common folks do not always know about, so you cannot look down on an entire group for the actions of some. All countries have poor marks on their records, but acknowledging the wrongdoings and attempting to right them as much as possible goes a long way in redemption and boosting public opinion. This book was very informative about the shenanagins that Swiss banks got up to during the war years, and I would highly suggest reading this. This is an important part of World War II and it's legacy. 

 Caroline Kennedy certainly had a raw deal being born into her family. She lost her father at a young age, and then her brother as a young man. She lost her uncles and aunts and cousins. There were plenty of family scandals. She may be wealthy, and she may have a large family and a lot of resources, but that doesn't negate the struggle she has had. I really like learning about the Kennedy family. This book was very good. I felt like I got to learn more about Caroline the person, and not just the public person. 

 In this seventh book of the Merry Gentry series, Cel and Merry are are odds over the production of an heir. Cel is still crazy, just like the rest of the nobles in the fae court it seems like. Merry's uncle, the King of the Seelie court is as vile as ever. Her men have had to ramp up the security of her person, due to increased threat of attack from various other characters. I like this series a lot, and hope that it continues for a long time. 

 I really like Kate Summerscale's work, and this one was the first one that I ever read of hers. This book is about the case of Saville Kent, who, at age three, was found murdered and dumped in the outdoor toilet. I really like reading about Victorian Era cases, and how police work was done back then. This was a very engaging book, and I enjoyed it. 

 This book was horrific. In a nice world, if there were prisoners of war taken, they would be kept in a clean facility with access to medical care and food. The world, however, is not nice. Starvation, beatings, cruel torture, and forced labor are among the things that a lot of prisoners of war have faced over the years. I would say that is still the case in a lot of places. I cannot imagine being in a country that was not my own, not speaking or understanding the language in a lot of cases, and being subjected to the things that they went through. Being able to make it home and communicate their experiences is so invaluable to the historical record. People treated returning veterans and pows in an abhorrent manner after Vietnam, and this book might adjust some of those attitudes and perspectives. So unfortunate. 

 This is the personal memoir of Casey Hammer, granddaughter of Armand Hammer. Armand Hammer was the Hammer family patriarch, and also a businessman involved in many things, but most notably Occidental Petroleum. (He is a very scandalous character, which is part of the reason that I purchased this book. I would like to find a more comprehensive biography about Armand, but until then...) Casey's father was Julian Hammer, Armand's only legitimate son. Casey details her life in the Hammer family, the lack of love, the drinking/drugs, and the sexual abuse by her father and her brother. (Michael, her brother, is now the head of the family. His son, actor Armie Hammer, is the current source of scandal in the family for sexual abuse and cannibalism comments.) This woman really endured a lot.

As far as the book itself goes, it was about a five hour listen on Audible. I got it during the last Audible sale, mostly because I wanted to know what it said about Armand Hammer. I found out about the book while watching the documentary about Armie Hammer (I think it is on Discovery+). I learned quite a bit about the family from the book, so it was certainly worth what I paid during the sale. 

 I appreciate this book for the simple fact that it is oral history from events in recent memory. I know a lot of guys who were in Iraq around 2006/2007 and I know how they feel about their experiences. My husband is currently deployed now, and I know how he feels about where he is and the jobs he is doing right now. I wasn't shocked by some of the statements made by some of the people interviewed for this book, but it was disheartening to see that there were so many negative experiences. War is an unfortunate thing all around. 

 Hurricane Sandy formed October 22, 2012 in the Caribbean. Sandy hit Kingston, Jamaica, causing about $100 million dollars in damage and leaving people without electricity. One person died. After Jamaica, Sandy strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane. Haiti was flooded terribly, causing 54 deaths, a lot of homelessness, and food shortages. Two people also died from this storm in the Dominican Republic, Canada, the Bahamas, and one person in Puerto Rico from the flooding. Cuba was especially hard hit, resulting in $2 billion dollars in damage, extensive flooding, and killing eleven people.

In the United States, residents were warned to evacuate certain areas, stock up on supplies, and attempt to weatherproof homes. Schools and businesses closed in preparation for the onslaught, and utility companies attempted to come up with ways to keep the grid online. A lot of flights were canceled. In total, twenty four states were directly impacted from Hurricane Sandy. The most heavily devastated were New York and New Jersey. I think most of us have seen the iconic images of the rollercoaster from Seaside Heights in the shallows of the ocean, which is what I remember most about the coverage of this storm. New York was flooded, with water pouring into subway entrances like waterfalls. A lot of buildings and landscaping were damaged from the onslaught as well. Over 100 people died in the United States.

All told, the storm caused over $68 billion dollars in damage. 233 people in total died. This was the deadliest and most destructive storm of the 2012 Hurricane Season. The book (which I found in large print!) was really interesting. It had a lot of information in it about how hurricane's are tracked and mapped. I had no idea that people really flew into these storms still... I guess I thought there was a new and improved way. That is a terrifying job that I would not like to have. In the book, it mentions several people on cruise ships during this storm, and I cannot imagine how horrifying that was. (Some of them were on their first ever cruise and surviving that would make me very firm in never doing it again, especially not during that time of year.) I really enjoyed this book and the personal stories in it.