Review: Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Educated

Educated by Tara Westover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Heidi

Heidi by Johanna Spyri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Moon Is Down

The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A novella that economically tells the story of a small coal-mining town occupied by Nazi German forces. Humanizing vignettes explore the points of view of overlords and conquered during a chain of events that leads to final, (suicidal?) retaliation by the townspeople.

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Review: Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the Civil War Era

Lincoln Reconsidered: Essays on the Civil War Era by David Herbert Donald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Phase IV

Phase IV by Blixa Bargeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Five Years Before You Retire: Retirement Planning When You Need It the Most

The Five Years Before You Retire: Retirement Planning When You Need It the Most by Emily Guy Birken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Calculus with Analytic Geometry

Calculus with Analytic Geometry by Howard Anton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life

Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More Taleb wry and enlightening observations with belittling, crude attacks. (What is this about slamming someone as "low-testosterone"?) He-man risk assessor Taleb really takes aim at the worst aspects of the unfair American capitalism in this book, using as an example Hank Paulson who as an Goldman Sachs banker made millions and as United States Secretary of the Treasury during the U.S. government economic bailout of 2008 transferred taxpayer wealth to the institutions that caused the problems...

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Review: O For Obscurity, Or, The Story Of N

O For Obscurity, Or, The Story Of N by Andrew Hook
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Greentown: Murder and Mystery in Greenwich, America's Wealthiest Community

Greentown: Murder and Mystery in Greenwich, America's Wealthiest Community by Timothy Dumas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Midnight Son

Midnight Son by James Dommek Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Half A Century Of Witchcraft

Half A Century Of Witchcraft by Jinx Dawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Half A Century Of Witchcraft

Half A Century Of Witchcraft by Jinx Dawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Climbing with Mollie

Climbing with Mollie by William Finnegan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Bull Of Minos

The Bull Of Minos by Leonard Cottrell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us

T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us by Carole Hooven
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Unraveled: A Mother and Son Story of Addiction and Redemption

Unraveled: A Mother and Son Story of Addiction and Redemption by Laura Cook Boldt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Female Orgasm: Psychology, Physiology, Fantasy

The Female Orgasm: Psychology, Physiology, Fantasy by Seymour Fisher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A weighty tome, about a thousand pages, on more than just the female sexual response. Gross female sexual psychology as elicited from numerous studies is poured over. Entirely enlightening, I recommend this to serious readers of either sex. There is even a good deal of child and interpersonal psychology to be had.

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Review: The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State

The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State by Lisa McGirr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency

Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency by Jonathan Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The primaries for the 2020 election before Biden secured the Democratic nomination over his closest rival Sanders was competitive overwhelming for being the largest field of candidates for any political party in the modern era of American politics. One of this candidates, Senator Kamala Harris from California, became the first African-American, first Asian-American, and third female vice presidential nominee on a major party ticket. The general election itself was much closer than the electoral college results suggest. This detailed study does a great job making engaging and enlightening all the twists and turns of lucky breaks for Joe as his party's base recoiled from radicalism and opted for the comforting centrist. Biden often proclaims a close relationship with Obama and this study suggests from Obama's words and actions how that is not an accurate assessment, which is among the more interesting points made here, to me.

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Review: Cult of the Immortal: Mummies and the Ancient Egyptian Way of Death

Cult of the Immortal: Mummies and the Ancient Egyptian Way of Death by Ange-Pierre Leca
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating, detailed examination of Egyptian ancestor worship from the Osiris rights of antiquity to Ptolemaic mass mummification. The writing is lively and engaging and there are plenty of illustrations, maps, and images. There are detailed steps through the mummification rights and the millennia of religious changes and political shifts relevant to the practice. I especially like the chapter debunking the more magical beliefs to have spread from miracle tomb contents to curses.

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