The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides

August 25, 2025

The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides

Although lauded as a hero in his own time, Captain James Cook has now become a controversial figure and something of a pariah in many circles, particularly Polynesia. One of the best mapmakers of his age, his explorations are blamed for the introduction of colonialism with all its evils, including epidemics, venereal disease, the subjugation of indigenous cultures, theft of relics and artifacts, and disruption of ecological systems. Cook's third and final voyage differed vastly from his earlier voyages. His crew noted that he appeared to be suffering from an unknown illness, either physical or mental, which caused an abrupt change in his behavior and personality. Sensitive readers should be aware that there are descriptions of both human and animal cruelty, as well as brutal violence.

Captain James Cook

Pathogenesis: a History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy

August 1, 2025

Pathogenesis: a History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy

A history of the world and our species based on the evolution of bacteria and viruses. As the author notes, most of what we call history is based on the exploits of a few "great" white men and how they shaped the story, much of which is wrong. The ultimate life form turns out to be microorganisms. Some of the plagues he discusses are not what you expect, like poverty and obesity. Recommended for readers who enjoy science-based nonfiction.

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

April 8, 2025

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

An examination of the five months between Abraham Lincoln's election and the start of the Civil War. I have enjoyed Larson's other books a great deal, but for me, this one didn't measure up to his earlier works. I think the sheer volume of research and the number of characters causes the narrative to bog down. Normally Larson's books are gripping page turners, but I had to work to finish this one.

 

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

January 25, 2025

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

An astounding story of a designer dressmaking salon run out of Auschwitz concentration camp, mostly staffed by Jewish women, patronized by the wives of high-ranking Nazis and SS officers. The Nazis were well aware of the importance of clothing to elevate or degrade people, and even in the middle of a war and clothing shortages, they and their families wanted to be well-dressed. (The Nazi culture was so bizarre, wanting to obliterate anyone who didn't fit their mold and keeping meticulous records about how they did it, yet using the talents of those same people when it suited them.) 

Sewing literally saved the dressmakers' lives, while at the same time allowing them to participate in sabotage in the camp. Many parts about the horrors of camp life and the way the inmates were treated were hard to read, but the stories of these smart, courageous women need to be told. The author had the privilege of interviewing the last surviving seamstress while researching this book. Stellar in-depth research. Recommended for readers interested in women's history and the Holocaust.

Berta Kohut and her sister Katka, two of the seamstresses of Auschwitz who survived the war

People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn

June 22, 2024

People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn

Dara Horn has written several historical novels that feature Jewish characters in unexpected roles, such as Confederate spy. In this nonfiction work, she explores the inexplicable ways that Jews have been persecuted throughout history, up to and including the recent rash of attacks against synagogues and Jewish neighborhoods. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Recommended for anyone interested in exploring Jewish history.

Tits Up by Sarah Thornton

June 8, 2024

Tits Up by Sarah Thornton

After the author had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, she began to think about what having breasts meant. Her interviews included sex workers, plastic surgeons, and bra designers. Some of her findings were surprising, including the eroticization of breasts as a Western phenomenon, and since the majority of plastic surgeons are men, they tend to give a patient D cup size implants, no matter what size the patient requested, like some hold-over from the Playboy era in the 1960s. The author also discovered that her own implants were incorrectly positioned. 

The expression "tits up" is believed to have originated among drag queens and means roughly the same thing as "break a leg" in the theater, although the expression is also used to mean that something is a disaster, as in "it's all gone tits up." Recommended for readers who enjoy micro-histories about unusual subjects.

Classic drag queen Lady Bunny

The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

January 4, 2024

The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

HMS Wager sailed from England in 1740, part of a convoy that was sailing for Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. The ship wrecked off the coast of South America, and the surviving crew members were marooned on a barren island that came to be known as Wager Island. But dissension rose among the survivors, and the crew split into two parts, both groups with a plan to escape the island and return to England. In 1742, the remnants of one group washed up in Brazil. They were hailed as brave heroes and returned to England in 1747. But then three officers from the Wager arrived in England in 1747. They told a much different story, insisting that the other crew members were not heroes but mutineers. And there began a story of they-said, they-said.

There is a saying that there are no atheists in a foxhole, and I'm pretty sure the same is true for a lifeboat. The Wager seems like it was a particularly unlucky, plagued by death, illness, superstition, constant storms, and strange accidents (maybe it was the name? Even though the Wager was named after a person, a wager is a bet). The survivors' saga reminded me of The Lord of the Flies. John (Jack) Byron, who eventually rose to vice admiral and was the grandfather of the poet Lord Byron, was a 15 year old midshipman on the Wager. Patrick O'Brian based his novel The Unknown Shore on Byron's journal from his time on the Wager. Recommended for history fans. (FYI, Cape Horn is at the tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans converge, and the seas in this area are said to be like a giant washing machine).

Cape Horn, Chile

Three Boys Missing by James A. Jack

January 1, 2024

Three Boys Missing by James A. Jack

On Sunday, October 16, 1955, three boys from the Jefferson Park neighborhood in northwest Chicago went to a movie at a downtown movie theater. They never returned home and were found murdered two days later. James Jack was one of the original detectives assigned to search for the missing children, and he details the case. The investigators were under pressure to solve the case quickly - little did they know that it would take 40 years to bring the killer to justice.

I live just north of Jefferson Park and I know the areas in this book very well. This crime occurred in the pre-Internet era, and police work was very different in the 1950s than it is today. Now there are surveillance cameras everywhere and there have been great advances in DNA testing. It does seem like the police spent a lot of time chasing down pointless leads. A number of the officers had fixed or pre-conceived ideas about who committed the crime - one of the persistent ideas was that a gang of teenagers had killed the boys. Most of the suspects brought in for questioning were guilty of something, just not of murdering the three boys. One witness starts filming the scene and a police officer is disgusted and confiscates the film - they'd be shocked that in 2023, everyone has a camera on their cell phone and people record everything. With law enforcement agencies not cooperating or communicating with each other, it was a wonder than any crimes were solved.

Milwaukee Avenue where much of the action in the book takes place, in the 1950s

Long Story Short by Jodi Taylor

September 16, 2023

Long Story Short by Jodi Taylor

The second collection of short stories about the disaster magnets at St. Mary's Institute for Historical Research. Like most short story collections, some stories are better than others, and some you can just skip if they don't interest you. A couple of the stories fill in the blanks or gaps between some of the novels in the series, including a story that give us more background on Leon Farrell and how he got to St. Mary's. But we still don't know for sure if Markham and Hunter are married (although they do have a child together in a later novel).

The Long and Short of It by Jodi Taylor

May 22, 2023

The Long and Short of It by Jodi Taylor

The disaster magnets from St. Mary's Institute for Historical Research (aka historians) are back for a collection of short stories previously published in ebook form. I'm not usually a fan of short stories (not enough time for character development, truncated plots, etc.), but I've read most of the books in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series. This collection of short stories fills in some of the blanks and hanging plot lines from previous books.

We learn how Dr. Bairstow founded St. Mary's, discover more about Markham, and learn how Mr. Bashford met Angus the chicken (who is actually a hen). Many of the stories are holiday themed. Unlike most short story collections, all of these stories are good. Great fun.

Angus the chicken, who is actually female

The Curse of the Marquis de Sade by Joel Warner

May 17, 2023

The Curse of the Marquis de Sade by Joel Warner

The Marquis de Sade was imprisoned in the notorious Bastille prison in Paris. He was a prolific writer, penning plays, essays, novels, short stories and political tracts, although he is best known for his erotic works. While in the Bastille, he wrote his magnum opus, "120 Days of Sodom." The manuscript was written on paper that was four inches wide; when he got to the bottom of the page, he glued another page to the bottom and kept writing. When the page was 40 feet long, he turned it over and wrote on the other side. When the Marquis was moved to another prison, the manuscript was left behind and later found after the Bastille was liberated. The manuscript became a collector's item, passing from one collector to another.

Part biography, part history of the notorious manuscript and other erotic literature, part investigation of the mania that grips collectors. The chapters about the Marquis's life and the history of erotic literature are far more interesting than the parts about rare documents as an investment. Should have been more interesting than it was.

The Marquis de Sade

An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor

April 2, 2023

An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor

The historians of St. Mary's (aka disaster magnets) are back. Hawking Hanger has been repaired after villain Clive Ronan nearly destroyed it (see And the Rest is History), young Matthew Farrell is safely in the future with the Time Police, and Max's husband Leon is slowly recovering from injuries sustained at the destruction of Constantinople. With their pods repaired and ready for service, Max and her fellow historians are off to observe Henry VIII's disastrous joust in January 1536, then on to Persepolis while setting a trap for Ronan. But things go disastrously wrong (no surprise there) and Max finds herself separated from her people by several centuries.

Very entertaining series, just what I needed after finishing a really depressing lit fic title. This is book #9, and one of the differences from previous books is that while the historians are usually in and out quickly, Max has an adventure that lasts much longer. They still haven't captured Ronan and we still don't know if Markham and Hunter are married and/or if they are pregnant. I guess I'll have to get the next book.

Life in a medieval town

And the Rest is History by Jodi Taylor

March 19, 2023

And the Rest is History by Jodi Taylor

The historians of St. Mary's are back for another adventure. Max, her husband Leon, and their baby son Matthew are together as a happy family, with the historians planning a trip back to 1066 to observe the battle of Hastings and the events leading up to it. Until arch-villain Clive Ronan shows up, that is, and throws a major spanner into the works, with the Time Police in hot pursuit of Ronan up and down the timeline. We lose a beloved character but several new characters are introduced, including a taxidermied dog named Colin.

This is book #8 in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series. Book #7 was really dark, so I took a break from the series (for several years, as it turns out). Taylor has no qualms about dragging her readers through the emotional wringer and book #8 is pretty dark, too, but there is hope and humor at the end (are Markham and Hunter really having a baby?? Are they really married??).

The Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Battle of Hastings in 1066

River of the Gods by Candice Millard

February 1, 2023

River of the Gods by Candice Millard

Since Roman times, explorers searched for the source of the River Nile. In Victorian England, two explorers - Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke - join together to mount an expedition to discover the source of the "White Nile." Companions at first, they disagreed about which of them deserved the credit for the discovery and eventually became bitter enemies.

Speke was a British aristocrat who was largely ignorant of Africa's people, languages, and customs, and his main interest was hunting and killing as many animals as possible. Burton was an Anglo-Indian who grew up outside of England and spent much of his early life in India, a brilliant but odd man who spoke more than 20 languages. While Speke claimed to have found the source of the Nile, it was actually their guide, an African named Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was the real hero of their exploits.

While maybe not as gripping as the author's other works, there is still excellent research and loads of gripping historical detail. The narrative was successful in that I learned about something that I had formerly known little about. I had heard of Sir Richard Burton, but it was for his translations of works including The 1,001 Arabian Nights rather than his explorations. I had never heard of John Hanning Speke, or suspected there was so much controversy about the source of the Nile. Interesting narrative nonfiction.

Sir Richard Burton

John Hanning Speke

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

 December 15, 2022

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

A history and expose of the pharmaceutical company that was largely responsible for the opioid epidemic, Purdue Pharma, and the Sackler family, the family that owned the company. Although the Sacklers didn't discover or invent oxycodone, they were responsible for marketing OxyContin, their own brand of oxycodone, as a safe, non-addictive pain reliever. The company's sales force continued to push doctors to over-prescribe oxy through sales incentives and marketing campaigns for everything from back pain to menstrual cramps to toothache.  The drug decimated rural and low-income areas in particular, and when the government began limiting the drug's availability, many users resorted to hard drugs like heroin.

First, let me say that oxycodone is a wonderful drug. I was prescribed oxy following surgery (which is how it is intended to be used) and it helped tremendously with post-operative pain. At that point, in 2021, oxy's addictive properties were well known, and even though I was prescribed enough oxy for seven days, I was encouraged to use it only when I really needed it (I stopped taking it after three days). It was criminal the way the Sacklers continued to push drug sales, long after they knew that people were dying from overdoses or moving on to stronger street drugs. It was unconscionable and indicative of a family that was morally deficit.

OxyContin, Purdue Pharma's trademarked brand of oxycodone

Madam by Debby Applegate

November 29, 2022

Madam by Debby Applegate

A biography of Polly Adler, notorious New York madam, as much a history of New York City in the first decades of the 20th century as a biography. Polly started out as a nice Jewish girl from Russia who came to America alone as 13 year old Perle, seeking the golden land. After working a series of low paying jobs (such as factory worker and seamstress), Polly realized that she wanted more and the fastest way to get there was by opening a brothel. Polly was known for having some of the most beautiful prostitutes in New York working for her.

The book is well-researched and an astonishing number of famous writers, actors, and politicians, as well as gangsters, were friends, clients, and associates of Polly. The book is very long and there is a little too much detail about Polly's many, MANY addresses around New York, as well as the number of times she was interviewed by the police, which could have perhaps been summarized (such as, "In 1935, Polly was interviewed by the police about Dutch Schultz at least 15 times."). But it was an interesting biography about an independent self-made businesswoman and author who is virtually unknown today. She wrote a book called A House is Not a Home that was made into a movie - Shelley Winters portrayed Polly in the film.

Polly Adler at her most glamorous

Queens of the Age of Chivalry by Alison Weir

November 7, 2022

Queens of the Age of Chivalry by Alison Weir

A history of five English queen consorts from the 14th and early 15th centuries, well-researched with a focus on the lesser known royal women. They influenced politics and economics as well as fashion and the cult of courtly love. The narrative flows smoothly, intended for a popular audience rather than a scholarly audience. The bibliography and notes at the end are extensive, should the reader want to consult primary sources.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Philippa of Hainault, queen consort to Edward III

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

November 2, 2022

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

In Belfast in December 1972, a woman named Jean McConville was taken from her flat by a group of people with the IRA. Nine of her ten children waited at home for her to return but they never saw her again. In 1999, the IRA admitted to killing Mrs. McConville because they believed she had been passing information to the British Army stationed in the city. No evidence was ever found to back up their claim about Jean, and in fact, when she was abducted, her oldest son was serving time in prison for being an IRA member. Her body was not found until 2003. Dolours and Marian Price and Brendan Hughes, all infamous IRA members, are believed to have taken part in her murder. It is believed that Marian was the one who actually shot Jean. Dolours later claimed not to have known that Jean was the mother of ten children, although she was one of the people who removed Jean from her home.

The story of Jean's abduction and murder is set against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, including the London bombings, the Price sisters' hunger strike in prison, the death of Bobby Sands, and the founding of Sinn Fein, which lobbied for a unified Ireland. It also explores the dissatisfaction of old IRA members who believed that violence was the only way to get their message across to the British, with the new philosophy of compromise and working through legal political channels. The impact of the Boston College oral history project about the Troubles is also discussed at length in this very readable piece of narrative nonfiction.

Jean McConville

A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury

March 22, 2022

A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury

Science and history blend together to make a highly readable narrative about the history of poison as a murder weapon. The author describes how these poisons kill us, from how they are administered to how they damage our organs to how they are detected. He discusses the use of poisons from early recorded history to recent headlines (like the Russian dissident who was poisoned with ricin in London).

One of the most disturbing aspects is how many of the poisoners were medical professionals, either doctors or nurses. The author speculates that it's because those in the medical field believe they know how to use poison without being caught or so the poison is not detected. Scary.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

The Five: the Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

September 23, 2021

The Five: the Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Jack the Ripper's five victims are dismissed as prostitutes and drunks who deserved to be murdered. But that was a 19th century media depiction designed to sell newspapers, not the truth by any means. The five women were daughters, wives, and mothers, not just victims. They were women who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, placed there by circumstances.

Women's fathers and husbands were usually their only source of financial support in the 19th century. If a woman was widowed or her parents died and she was left penniless, there was often no other way for her to support herself and her children than resorting to prostitution. Some of the Ripper's victims weren't prostitutes at all, just forced to sleep rough because they didn't have the means to rent a room for the night. Cheap gin was a way to forget the horror that their lives had become. Poverty, homelessness, and no prospects for employment drove them to the streets and prostitution.

This is a really insightful look at the Ripper's victims as people and not just as horribly mutilated dead bodies. Very well-researched.

The women who were victims of Jack the Ripper

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.