This book is written by the daughter of Ervil LeBaron. I heard about the LeBaron family on a podcast that I listen to, and this was one of the books that popped up when I searched the internet for more information. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to live through the events that Anna and everyone else in this group lived through. Anna did a great job conveying her emotions and thoughts throughout the book, but it is still hard to grasp the things that she went through. I cannot imagine how I would feel if my Dad did the things that her Dad did. It would be hard for me to reconcile. I thought this book was great, though I hate saying that since the subject matter is so tragic. I have also read The Sound Of Gravel, written by her cousin, which was also tragic. I would suggest these books to anyone who is interested in the LeBaron family and their activities. 

 I got this book, because I was interested in learning more about the Khmer Rouge. I certainly learned a lot. I hadn't really known much about this to begin with, but this book covered the entire lifespan of Pol Pot. It did a deep dive into his ideals and how he came to have them, which I found very interesting. There was a LOT of politics and things of that nature mentioned in this book, so if you are tired of politics, steer clear. Over a million Cambodians were executed or died of starvation, and the means of execution were really quite brutal. It reminded me a lot of the Japanese activities in Nanking during World War Two in terms of brutality against civilians. Overall, this was a good book. 

 This review will contain spoilers and complaints.

In this book, Kay is called to a farmhouse in Virginia that has burned down with a body inside. The fire has come at a convenient time- being the time when Lucy's insane ex-girlfriend has escaped her psychiatric hospital. I cannot stand Carrie or Temple, and I sincerely wish their characters would have been resolved and done away with. I can't stand them, and there are plenty of other characters to be discovered without having to deal with that lot continuously. Lucy is still irritating, and has left the FBI for the ATF due to issues with her sexuality. As an aside, that is probably a common thing that happened to people during this time frame the book is set in. There has always been negativity surrounding anyone who has a lifestyle other than the accepted norm, and it should not be that way. I wonder if there are still struggles like this in the FBI and ATF. Like always, the technology continues to advance throughout the series to keep up with the actual advances in computers and forensics that we see in real life. I love that so much about these books. 

 This book is about the first two cities in the world to begin production of plutonium. "Plutopia" was a word designed to describe cities built around these plutonium factories, where workers and families lived to contain the secrets of the factory. The first site that is discussed is the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state. This site was established as part of the Manhattan Project in 1943, which provided the plutonium for the bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki in World War II. Eventually, the site was expanded to nine nuclear reactors and five plutonium processing plants. Water from the nearby Columbia River was pumped out to cool the reactors, then pumped back into the river. The government kept the release of radioactive water back into the river a secret from the public. Radioactive isotopes were released into the air, affecting crops and livestock. The government kept this a secret, and even scheduled intentional releases of these substances. Workers, of course, had various degrees of radiation poisoning and sickness. They had skin issues, all manner of health issues, and disabilities. The site was eventually decommissioned and cleanup began, though the site is known to still be leaking radioactive materials into the ground water and river.

The Kyshtym disaster is named this due to the fact that the actual site was unmapped and this was the closest town. Russian scientists and government officials were behind in their nuclear developments, so a lot of the decision they made were just really poor ones. Extremely radioactive material was dumped into the river, as well as in a lake. The lake is now considered the most polluted spot on the planet. There was an explosion at the facility, which released more radioactive material than the more famous accident at Chernobyl. The materials that entered the air from the explosion traveled on the wind to various towns surrounding the sites. Of course, residents were not informed of this. Ultimately, they evacuated something like 10,000 people, yet never told them why they were being forced to leave. People for generations have experienced effects of this radiation.

This book was recommended to me on Audible, because I had recently purchased the book Paradise Falls. I do like a good disaster book, so I figured this would be a good purchase for me. I had to speed up the speaking to a rate faster than what I normally listen at. Other than that, I found the book very educational. I had never heard of the Hanford Site, so I learned a great deal. I had heard of the Russian site in passing on some show that I watched on Netflix, called Dark Tourist. The book was well researched, and the story was entertaining as well as educational. It is disgusting that people rely on "leaders" who clearly do not care about the welfare of their populations. Reading books like this make you really feel like you are some type of lab rat. It really leaves a bad taste in your mouth. 

 This book is written by Joseph Salerno, an Italian American plumber who found himself involved with Philadelphia mobster Nicodemo Scarfo. Scarfo was banished from Philadelphia to Atlantic City for his antics, where he soon took over the construction business during the casino building boom. This is how Salerno came into contact with him. While hanging around these gangsters, he witnessed a murder that was committed using his own weapon. He told the police everything he knew, but his treatment by law enforcement was really disheartening. He witnessed against Scarfo and his testimony did help bring light to Scarfo's misdeeds. Scarfo was a man with a quick temper and a penchant for murder. It is believed that Scarfo was responsible for at least twenty six murders, but probably a lot more. This book details Salerno's experiences with the mob, but also his time in witness protection, his family issues, and his issues with his treatment by law enforcement. It was a really interesting book, and I certainly appreciate it getting me through dance and waiting at the dentist office. 

 The Plaza Hotel is located near Central Park in New York. The architecture of the building is French Renaissance/Chateau, and I find it quite beautiful. I love architecture, and I just never realized that I did until I got older. The designer of the building was Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in 1907, but there was a later addition added in 1919, designed by Warren and Wetmore. The building is 21 stories, which is not a lot when you consider some modern buildings, but still quite a bit for a hotel. The interior features a number of bars and dining areas, a ballroom, suites and condominiums, and amazing architecture and interior design. The hotel is now a historical landmark.

Conrad Hilton bought the hotel after the Great Depression, spending six million dollars on renovations. He installed air conditioning equipment, which was a huge deal. There were several long term residents in the hotel, and they were not really excited about Hilton taking over the hotel, but they did grow to appreciate the renovations. After Hilton, the hotel was owned by Sonnabend, and then by Westin. After Westin, the hotel found itself with another notorious owner, Donald Trump. Trump had borrowed heavily to purchase and renovate the hotel, and eventually the hotel wound up as part of a bankruptcy package.

This book also mentioned several important guests. The first guest to ever sign the register was Alfred G. Vanderbilt. George Jay Gould, Harry Frank Guggenheim, Russian Princess Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Kay Thompson (the creator of Eloise) all stayed there. The social scene was hopping, and several famous people and wealthy elites came to parties and dinners in the hotel. In fact, the Beatles even stayed there. Several weddings were held here, including Donald Trump and Marla Maples, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and various receptions.

The hotel has been featured in books and movies. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about the hotel in The Great Gatsby, and Eloise was based out of the Plaza. Eloise generated a lot of revenue in the form of post cards and guests coming who were fans of the book. In The Sopranos, Carmella and Meadow have tea at the Plaza under the portrait of Eloise. The Plaza was also featured in Home Alone 2, Sleepless In Seattle, and Crocodile Dundee.

This book was very well researched. I loved learning about the history of the hotel, the owners, and the stories during the construction. Of course, I really loved reading about all of the notable people that stayed in the hotel. I have a (not so hidden) interest in celebrity gossip, which this book did have some of, and also just learning about people whose names I have read in other historical nonfiction books (Vanderbilts and Goulds and Fitzgeralds). This was a pretty good book, and I cannot believe it took me so long to get to it, but I am slowly getting all the books I have bought on Audible listened to. 

 I listened to this book on Audible, and it seemed like it went on forever. I think I would have liked it better and would have taken more in than I did if I would have read the physical copy of the book. Dan Jones is a great author, and I have really enjoyed his other books. This one was very detailed about the Plantagenets. I love learning about royal families, so this was right up my alley. I recommend this for anyone who is interested in royal families. 

 It took me forever to slog through this book. I read it within twenty four hours, but GOSH it felt like it took a week. It was interesting to see how plagues came about and what people thought about them and how they handled it. It was just a boring book to me. 

 I got this book on Audible. It wasn't the worst thing, but not the best. I did learn some things that I didn't know, and it passed the time okay. 

 This book was included on the Audible Plus catalog. Several of these little short books are included on there, and I am trying to get through them all. I think I have three more left. The book was about an hour and a half. This book was about Albert Hicks, who was a criminal back in the days of the Gangs of New York time. He was arrested for the murder of a ship's crew, but they were concerned that the charges would not stick, as the bodies were never found. They decided to try him on a piracy law, which is how he got his pirate nickname. I thought this was an interesting little book, and I am looking forward to reading the last couple in this Bloodlands series.