Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 8

Today's manga post is on Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 8 by Mika Yamamori. It is 192 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. The cover has Suzume and Yuyuka on it. As it is the eighth in the series, you need to have read the first seven volumes to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo coming of age stories. There in no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character, Suzume. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the manga- Suzume has moved to Tokyo and is living with her uncle. Mr. Shishio’s change of heart causes Suzume to shut herself up in her room. When Suzume's mother returns to their hometown for a brief stay, Suzume makes the sudden decision to return home. But Yuyuka and Suzume's other Tokyo friends are determined to bring her back.

Review- So Mr. Shishio's choice to end the relationship with Suzume throws her into depression and uncertainty. She does not know what she wants anymore and when her mother is home, Suzume runs back home. There she hopes to clear her head. But her friends in Tokyo are worried that she will never return. So they follow her, including Mamura. I really enjoyed this volume now that the student-teacher relationship is over. It is also nice to Yuyuka moving on from her crush on Mamura and being open to new people. I look forward to the next volume and seeing what drama is going to happen next. 

I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 7

Today's manga post is on Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 7 by Mika Yamamori. It is 208 pages long and is published by  Shojo Beat. The cover has Mamura and friend on it. As it is the seventh volume in the series, you need to have read the first six volumes to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes coming of age stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character, Suzume. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the manga- Suzume has moved to Tokyo and is living with her uncle. Suzume and Mr. Shishio take a trip together for the first time. But something weighs heavily on Mr. Shishio’s mind. Meanwhile, Suzume’s worried about being caught on a romantic outing with her teacher.

Review- So much drama in this volume. Suzume wants more from her relationship with Mr. Shishio but she is also afraid because they could get into trouble. So Suzume goes to a Yayaka for help on what to do. At the end, it looks like Suzume and Mr. Shishio are going to end things but I know that we have more drama coming. I hope that Suzume will start growing as a character, now that she has experienced this heartbreak. Mamura has some good growth and he is worried about Suzume. I am curious about what is going to happen next. 

I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 9

Today's manga post is on Sweat and Soap, Vol. 9 by Kintetsu Yamada. It is 208 pages long and is published by Kondansha Comics. As it is the ninth in the series, you need to have read the first eight volumes to understand the story. The cover has Asako and Kotaro on it in an emotional scene. The intended reader is someone who likes mature love stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character, Asako. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the manga- COME WHAT MAY
Now that Kotaro and Asako have gotten used to living together, they've started to think about what their future holds. It's an exciting—and somewhat terrifying—prospect, one made all the more difficult when the haunting reappearance of a ghost from Asako's past threatens their happily ever after...

Review- Things are pretty intense in this volume with Asako dealing with her childhood trauma. Of course she is trying to just push it away instead of dealing with it and her relationship with Kotaro is sufferings for it. But Kotaro knows her pretty well now and he is not going to let her go without a fight. I like seeing that Asako deal with the trauma of bullying and how it just does not go away when you become an adult, how it can effect your life. I think that Asako and Kotaro continue to have some of the most realistic relationships I have read, with problems and communication. I like that not everything is just okay, that they have to choose to be in this relationship. I look forward to the next volume.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge

Today's nonfiction post is on Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge by Richard Ovenden. It i sIt i s308 pages long and is published by Belpnap Press. The cover is a book being burned through. The intended reader is someone who is interested in the deliberate destruction of books and private papers. There is foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- The director of the famed Bodleian Libraries at Oxford narrates the global history of the willful destruction—and surprising survival—of recorded knowledge over the past three millennia.
Libraries and archives have been attacked since ancient times but have been especially threatened in the modern era. Today the knowledge they safeguard faces purposeful destruction and willful neglect; deprived of funding, libraries are fighting for their very existence. Burning the Books recounts the history that brought us to this point.
Richard Ovenden describes the deliberate destruction of knowledge held in libraries and archives from ancient Alexandria to contemporary Sarajevo, from smashed Assyrian tablets in Iraq to the destroyed immigration documents of the United Kingdom’s Windrush generation. He examines both the motivations for these acts—political, religious, and cultural—and the broader themes that shape this history. He also looks at attempts to prevent and mitigate attacks on knowledge, exploring the efforts of librarians and archivists to preserve information, often risking their own lives in the process.
More than simply repositories for knowledge, libraries and archives inspire and inform citizens. In preserving notions of statehood recorded in such historical documents as the Declaration of Independence, libraries support the state itself. By preserving records of citizenship and records of the rights of citizens as enshrined in legal documents such as the Magna Carta and the decisions of the United States Supreme Court, they support the rule of law. In Burning the Books, Ovenden takes a polemical stance on the social and political importance of the conservation and protection of knowledge, challenging governments in particular, but also society as a whole, to improve public policy and funding for these essential institutions.

Review- An interesting history about the destruction of books libraries, personal papers, and other forms of documentation and why. Ovenden covers much of known history of the destruction books and written materials. He discusses why someone might want to do that from protecting the reputation of the writer to destroying a culture's historical memory. Ovenden is an excellent writer, he helps the reader to understand the history and how important the knowledge that been lost is. He does touch on a few times were a person's personal writing was destroyed after their death to protect their public image. How that was seen at the time and how it is seen now, as it gives insight into the person and their work like nothing else. I enjoyed this book very much and I would like to read more from Ovenden.  

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Chuck Klosterman X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century

Today's nonfiction post is on Chuck Klosterman X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century by Chuck Klosterman. It is 464 pages long and is published by Penguin Press. The cover is black the title and author's name in white. The intended reader is someone who likes recent history, music, pop culture, and mild philosophy. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- New York Times-bestselling author and cultural critic Chuck Klosterman sorts through the past decade and how we got to now. Chuck Klosterman has created an incomparable body of work in books, magazines, newspapers, and on the Web. His writing spans the realms of culture and sports, while also addressing interpersonal issues, social quandaries, and ethical boundaries. Klosterman has written nine previous books, helped found and establish Grantland, served as the New York Times Magazine Ethicist, worked on film and television productions, and contributed profiles and essays to outlets such as GQ, Esquire, Billboard, The A.V. Club, and The Guardian. Chuck Klosterman's tenth book (aka Chuck Klosterman X) collects his most intriguing of those pieces, accompanied by fresh introductions and new footnotes throughout. Klosterman presents many of the articles in their original form, featuring previously unpublished passages and digressions. Subjects include Breaking Bad, Lou Reed, zombies, KISS, Jimmy Page, Stephen Malkmus, steroids, Mountain Dew, Chinese Democracy, The Beatles, Jonathan Franzen, Taylor Swift, Tim Tebow, Kobe Bryant, Usain Bolt, Eddie Van Halen, Charlie Brown, the Cleveland Browns, and many more cultural figures and pop phenomena. This is a tour of the past decade from one of the sharpest and most prolific observers of our unusual times.

Review- This is another excellent collection of essays from Klosterman. He covers many subjects in this collection from music to sports to television. Of course his opinions are all his own but Klosterman is so funny and enjoyable to read. He gives new insight into some recent history and makes it funny too. With the index in the back, you can just read about the topics that interest you. But I would recommend you read everything that Klosterman writes about as he is such an entertaining writer. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed from this book from my local library. 

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade

Today's nonfiction post is on The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler. It is 354 pages long and is published by Penguin Press HC. The cover is pictures of different girls from the forties and fifties. The intended reader is someone who is interested in women's history. There is mild foul language, discussion of sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A powerful and groundbreaking revelation of the secret history of the 1.5 million women who surrendered children for adoption in the several decades before Roe v. Wade.
In this deeply moving work, Ann Fessler brings to light the lives of hundreds of thousands of young single American women forced to give up their newborn children in the years following World War II and before Roe v. Wade. The Girls Who Went Away tells a story not of wild and carefree sexual liberation, but rather of a devastating double standard that has had punishing long-term effects on these women and on the children they gave up for adoption. Based on Fessler's groundbreaking interviews, it brings to brilliant life these women's voices and the spirit of the time, allowing each to share her own experience in gripping and intimate detail. Today, when the future of the Roe decision and women's reproductive rights stand squarely at the front of a divisive national debate, Fessler brings to the fore a long-overlooked history of single women in the fifties, sixties, and early seventies.
In 2002, Fessler, an adoptee herself, traveled the country interviewing women willing to speak publicly about why they relinquished their children. Researching archival records and the political and social climate of the time, she uncovered a story of three decades of women who, under enormous social and family pressure, were coerced or outright forced to give their babies up for adoption. Fessler deftly describes the impossible position in which these women found themselves: as a sexual revolution heated up in the postwar years, birth control was tightly restricted, and abortion proved prohibitively expensive or life endangering. At the same time, a postwar economic boom brought millions of American families into the middle class, exerting its own pressures to conform to a model of family perfection. Caught in the middle, single pregnant women were shunned by family and friends, evicted from schools, sent away to maternity homes to have their children alone, and often treated with cold contempt by doctors, nurses, and clergy.
The majority of the women Fessler interviewed have never spoken of their experiences, and most have been haunted by grief and shame their entire adult lives. A searing and important look into a long-overlooked social history, The Girls Who Went Away is their story.

Review- A deeply moving and troubling book about American history before Roe v. Wade and the girls who were sent away for the shame of being pregnant. Fessler is herself a child from a girl who was sent away and started this journey as a way to understand her birth mother and herself. The interviews in this book are heart-breaking to read. From women who were date raped and then shamed for the pregnancy to girls who were just uneducated about sex. The interviews are raw and very hard to read but the stories these women have to tell are important and enlightening, about stolen futures and life long trauma from their children being taken from them. I would recommend this book. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning

Todays post is on Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning by Sarah Stankorb. It is 366 pages long and is published by Worthy Books. The cover is white page with a strip being ripped down and revealing red under. The intended reader is someone who is interested in religion and the lives of people who are religious. There is no foul language, discussions of rape, sexual molestation, and violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the audiobook- Journalist Sarah Stankorb outlines how access to the internet—its networks, freedom of expression, and resources for deeply researching and reporting on powerful church figures—allowed women to begin dismantling the false authority of evangelical communities that had long demanded their submission. A generation of American Christian girls was taught submitting to men is God’s will. They were taught not to question the men in their families or their pastors. They were told to remain sexually pure and trained to feel shame if a man was tempted. Some of these girls were abused and assaulted. Some made to shrink down so small they became a shadow of themselves. To question their leaders was to question God.
All the while, their male leaders built fiefdoms from megachurches and sprawling ministries. They influenced politics and policy. To protect their church’s influence, these men covered up and hid abuse. American Christian patriarchy, as it rose in political power and cultural sway over the past four decades, hurt many faithful believers. Millions of Americans abandoned churches they once loved.
Yet among those who stayed (and a few who still loved the church they fled), a brave group of women spoke up. They built online megaphones, using the democratizing power of technology to create long-overdue change.
In Disobedient Women , journalist Sarah Stankorb gives long-overdue recognition for these everyday women as leaders and as voices for a different sort of faith. Their work has driven journalists to help bring abuse stories to national attention. Stankorb weaves together the efforts of these courageous voices in order to present a full, layered portrait of the treatment of women and the fight for change within the modern American church.
Disobedient Women is not just a look at the women who have used the internet to bring down the religious power structures that were meant to keep them quiet, but also a picture of the large-scale changes that are happening within evangelical culture regarding women’s roles, ultimately underscoring the ways technology has created a place for women to challenge traditional institutions from within.

Review- This was a very enlightening and at times very hard read. Stankorb comes from a place of person knowledge about the topic and because of her history, she gains the trust of the women whose stories she tells. She breaks down the how's of the power structure within churches and how it creates a perfect place for abuse of kinds. Stankorn not only has interviews of survivors but studies that have been done investing religious abuse. While the subject matter is dark, there is hope in this book, hope for the healing, and hope for the future by holding religious leaders responsible for their actions. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this audiobook from my local library.

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere

Today's post is on Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere by Maria Bamford. It is 287 pages long and is published by Gallery Books. The cover is yellow with Maria on it in a white dress with flowers in her hair and a silly look on her face. The intended reader is someone who likes memoirs. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the audiobook- From “weird, scary, ingenious” (The New York Times) stand-up comedian Maria Bamford, a brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems—from Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, to Suzuki violin training, to Richard Simmons, to 12-step programs.
Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it.
In Bamford’s signature voice, Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult, brings us on a quest to participate in something. With sincerity and transparency, she recounts every anonymous fellowship she has joined (including but not limited to: Debtors Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous), every hypomanic episode (from worrying about selling out under capitalism to enforcing union rules on her Netflix TV show set to protect her health), and every easy 1-to-3-step recipe for fudge in between.
Singular and inimitable, Bamford’s memoir explores what it means to keep going, and to be a member of society (or any group she’s invited to) despite not being very good at it. In turn, she hopes to transform isolating experiences into comedy that will make you feel less alone (without turning into a cult following).

Review- A hilarious memoir about a one woman's journey through life, comedy, mental illness, and family. Bamford reads this audiobook and her impersonations of her family and friends are just hysterical. She holds nothing back from her life and her journey with mental illness. Bamford not only has stories about working as a comedian but she includes helpful little recipes from her family about how to handle different problems. Bamford as so many little touches over the course of this book, that make it so very special. I completely recommend this book, I enjoyed it so much. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this audiobook from my local library. 

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction

Today's nonfiction post is on Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson. It is 448 pages long and is published by Random House. The cover is a picture of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt on a dig. The intended reader is someone who is interested in women's history, world history, and Egyptology. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In the 1960s, the world’s attention was focused on a nail-biting race against the international campaign to save a dozen ancient Egyptian temples from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. But the coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the daring French archaeologist who made it all happen. Without the intervention of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the temples—including the Temple of Dendur, now at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art—would currently be at the bottom of a vast reservoir. It was an unimaginably complex project that required the fragile sandstone temples to be dismantled and rebuilt on higher ground.
Willful and determined, Desroches-Noblecourt refused to be cowed by anyone or anything. As a member of the French Resistance in World War II she survived imprisonment by the Nazis; in her fight to save the temples she defied two of the most daunting leaders of the postwar world, Egypt’s President Abdel Nasser and France’s President Charles de Gaulle. As she told one reporter, “You don’t get anywhere without a fight, you know.”
Desroches-Noblecourt also received help from a surprising source. Jacqueline Kennedy, America’s new First Lady, persuaded her husband to help fund the rescue effort. After a century and a half of Western plunder of Egypt’s ancient monuments, Desroches-Noblecourt helped instead to preserve a crucial part of that cultural heritage.

Review- A great read about the first French woman Egyptology, Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt. She loved Egypt from childhood and her parents enjoyed her passion. She fought the establishments in intellectual French to make a place for herself and other women. This book follows her whole life and career. She also fought for the temples of ancient Egypt that were forgotten and uncared for. Desroches-Noblecourt saw all the beauty and history as more than just Egypt's, it belonged to the whole world as world history. So she did everything she could to make others, especially those in power, see the beauty too. With effort, she did and we still have many temples that would have been lost to the Nile without her. I recommend this book about a fascinating woman, Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt. 

I give this book a a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy

Today's nonfiction post is on Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy by Alex Mar. It is 384 pages long and is published by Penguin Press. The cover is blue with title and author in bold black print and pictures of both the murderer and the victim. The intended reader is someone who is interested in true crime and what justice really is. There is mild foul language, no sex, and descriptions of violence. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the dust jacket- A masterful, revelatory work of literary non-fiction about a teenage girl's shocking crime--and its extraordinary aftermath
On a spring afternoon in 1985 in Gary, Indiana, a fifteen-year-old girl kills an elderly woman in a violent home invasion. In a city with a history of racial tensions and white flight, the girl, Paula Cooper, is Black, and her victim, Ruth Pelke, is white and a beloved Bible teacher.
When Paula is sentenced to death, no one decries the impending execution of a tenth grader. But the tide begins to shift when the victim's grandson Bill forgives the girl, against the wishes of his family, and campaigns to spare her life. This tragedy in a midwestern steel town soon reverberates across the United States and around the world--reaching as far away as the Vatican--as newspapers cover the story on their front pages and millions sign petitions in support of Paula.
As Paula waits on death row, her fate sparks a debate that not only animates legal circles but raises vital questions about the value of human life: What are we demanding when we call for justice? Is forgiveness an act of desperation or of profound bravery? As Bill and Paula's friendship deepens, and as Bill discovers others who have chosen to forgive after terrible violence, their story asks us to consider what radical acts of empathy we might be capable of.
In Seventy Times Seven, Alex Mar weaves an unforgettable narrative of an act of violence and its aftermath. This is a story about the will to live--to survive, to grow, to change--and about what we are willing to accept as justice. Tirelessly researched and told with intimacy and precision, this book brings a haunting chapter in the history of our criminal justice system to astonishing life.

Review- A very moving true crime book that examines the crime, the criminal, and what is real justice. The murder of Ruth Pelke by the hands of a group of teenage girls was very shocking to the community and her family. Her grandson started as angry as the rest of the his family but hearing Paula's grandfather cry out for her, something changed in him. He began to question what his grandmother would have wanted and what was justice when someone is 15. This book is very well written and the questions about justice, faith, and personal choice it raises are engaging. I was deeply moved by Bill, the grandson, and Paula, the murderer, as they tried to find peace and friendship with each other. I would recommend this book. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Homicide

Today's nonfiction book is on Homicide by Philippe Squarzoni (Adapter/Illustrator), David Simon. It is 320 pages long and is published by First Second. The cover is grey with yellow accents. The intended reader is someone is who interested in classic true crime and likes graphic novels. There is foul language, no sex, and discussion of violence in this graphic novel. The story is from told third person perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Homicide, the celebrated true crime-book from the creator of HBO's The Wire, is re-envisioned in this first volume of a gritty, cinematic graphic novel duology.
In 1988, journalist David Simon was given unprecedented access to the Baltimore Police Department’s homicide unit. Over the next twelve months, he shadowed detectives as they took on a slew of killings in a city where killings were common. Only the most heinous cases stood out–chief amongst them, the rape and murder of eleven-year-old Latonya Wallace.
Originally published in 1991, Simon’s Homicide became the basis for the acclaimed television show Homicide: Life on the Street and inspired HBO’s The Wire. Now, this true-crime classic is reimagined as a gritty two-part graphic novel series.

Review- A great introduction to a classic true crime book. Homicide was a ground breaking book and then a ground breaking television show. I have been a fan of the show for over twenty years but I have never gotten around to reading the original book. So when the graphic novel came out, I knew I had to get my hands on it and it was a great read. The style of the art is very traditional with muted greys, browns, whites, and blacks. So when a more intense color, like red for blood, is on the page, it stands out even more. The narration style is very unique, there is little dialog more back narration, like someone read over your shoulder, talking about what is happening and other information. I liked the style, it made it feel like I was reading the original book. I cannot wait to get my hands on the second volume and I would like to see more nonfiction books get this treatment. 

I give this graphic novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this graphic novel from my local library. 

Nakam: The Holocaust Survivors Who Sought Full-Scale Revenge

Today's nonfiction post is on Nakam: The Holocaust Survivors Who Sought Full-Scale Revenge by Dina Porat. It is 400 pages long and is published by Stanford University Press. The cover has the title in red and pipes all around. The intended reader is someone who is interested in forgotten post World War II history. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. 

From the dust jacket- Nakam (Hebrew for "Vengeance") tells the story of "The Avengers" (Nokmim), a group of young Holocaust survivors led by poet and resistance fighter Abba Kovner, who undertook a mission of revenge against Germany following the crimes of the Holocaust. Motivated by both the atrocities they had endured and the realization that murderous antisemitic attacks on survivors continued long after the Nazi surrender, these fifty young men and women sought retaliation at a level commensurate with the devastation caused by the Holocaust, making clear to the world that Jewish blood would no longer be shed with impunity. If successful, they would have poisoned city water supplies and loaves of bread distributed to German POWs, with the aim of killing six million Germans.
While the Avengers' story began to come to light in the 1980s, details of the relations between the group and Zionist leadership and the motivations of its members have remained unknown. Drawing on rich archival sources and in-depth interviews with the Avengers in their later years, historian Dina Porat examines the formation of the group and the clash between the formative humanistic values held by its members and their unrealized plans for violent retaliation.

Review- The book is based on first hand interviews and documents from the Nakam themselves. Porat spent years interviewing, reading, and researching the 'Avengers' and their mission and it shows. Porat does a wonderful job bringing this forgotten history into the light. She helps the reader understand the feelings of the Nakam and the world that they have survived and the new world that they felt lost in. We follow the Nakam from the founding of their order to the end of their lives and the peace that they finally found in living. I will warn that this is a more academic text, so at times it is very slow, but the people the story is about is very compelling. I would recommend this book if you are interested in World War II history. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Hitler's Boy Soldiers: How My Father's Generation Was Trained to Kill and Sent to Die for Germany

 

Today's nonfiction post is on Hitler's Boy Soldiers: How My Father's Generation Was Trained to Kill and Sent to Die for Germany by Helene Munson. It is 366 pages long and is was published by The Experiment. The cover is two pictures of boy soldiers and the author's father. The intended reader is someone who is interested in War World 2 history. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The true, untold story of how Germany's children fought in WWII.
Helene Munson resurrects her father's WWII journals and embarks on a meticulous investigation, exposing how the Nazis trained 300,000 impressionable children as soldiers.
In 1937, Munson's father, Hans was enrolled in an elite German school whose students were destined to take leadership roles in the Reich. At fifteen, he was drafted as an antiaircraft gunner- along with the rest of the Hilter Youth- and assigned to an SS unit. As the was was being lost, Hans and his schoolmates were ordered to the front lines. Few returned.
A personal lens into a nation's shameful past, Hitler's Boy Soldiers documents the history of the largest army of child soldiers in recent memory. Munson explores the lifelong effects on brainwashed children coerced to join a party they didn't understand. Both a modern narrative and an important historical contribution, Hitler's Boy Soldiers grapples with inherited trauma, the nature of being victim or perpetrator, and the burden of guilt. 

Review- A moving story of a boy trying to survive then a daughter trying to understand her father and what made him. Munson did not start investigating into her father's life during the war until after his death. Soon this desire to know her father better became an all consuming quest. She not only read his journals, letters, and other first hand documents; she also sought out others who experienced the same things during the war. If you want to see the war from Germany's perspective but not from a member of the Nazi elite but an innocent child, then you need to read this book. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

How the Irish Became White

 

Today's nonfiction post is on How the Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev. It is 233 pages long and is published by Routledge. The cover is a painting by William Sidney Mount "Dance of the Haymakers". The intended reader is someone who is interested in Irish, American, and African American history. There is some foul language, no sex, and discussion of violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Ignatiev traces the tattered history of Irish and African-American relations, revealing how the Irish used labor unions, the Catholic Church and the Democratic party to help gain and secure their newly found place in the White Republic. He uncovers the roots of conflict between Irish-Americans & African-Americans & draws a powerful connection between the embracing of white supremacy & Irish "success" in 19th century American society.

Review- This is a very scholarly book about the Irish in America during the 19th century. The way that the Irish emigrants were viewed, the Catholic prejudice in America and racial fears towards both the Irish and African slaves. But this book is not written for the average reader, as it is written in a professional, scholarly way. So some of the language can be very obscure. But if you are truly interested in the history that this book is about, you will find a very interesting resource. Ignatiev gives a very nuanced view of the world that the Irish were coming from and what they were arriving into in America. He does not hide from the racial prejudice towards both African slaves and Irish emigrants. Ignatiev does his research, his notes are excellent, and you can find all his resources if you want to read more about this subject. For the more scholarly, history minded readers, this is a good read. But if you are looking for some more generally approachable, then this book is not for you. 

I give this book a Three out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

The Nineties

Today's nonfiction post is on The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman. It is 370 pages long and is published by Penguin Press. The cover is a clear plastic phone on a white background. The intended reader is someone who like essays, interested in near history, and re-examining their memories. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Head.

From the dust jacket- It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. At the beginning, almost every name and address was listed in a phone book, and everyone answered their landlines because you didn't know who it was. By the end, exposing someone's address was an act of emotional violence, and nobody picked up their new cell phone if they didn't know who it was. The 1990s brought about a revolution in the human condition we're still groping to understanding. Happily, Chick Klosterman is more than up to the job.
Beyond epiphenomena like "Cop Killer" and Titanic and Zima, there were wholesale shifts in how society was perceived: the rise of the internet, pre-9/11 politics, and the paradoxical belief that nothing was more humiliating than undisguised ambition. Pop culture accelerated without the aid of a machine that remembered everything, generating an odd comfort in never being certain about anything. On a 1900s Thursday night, more people watched any random episode of Seinfeld than the finale of Game of Thrones. But nobody thought that it was important; if you missed it, you simply missed it. This was the last era that held to the idea of an objective, hegemonic mainstream before everything began to fracture, whether you found a home in it or defined yourself against it. 

Review- Another wonderful book of essays by Klosterman that touches on many topics that dominated public thought in the 1900s. Klosterman is a great writer, who bring interesting insights into a very meaty topic, covering a whole decade in less than 350 pages. He talks TV, movies, politics, music, and more. The writing is very engaging, he makes his points and backs them them up well but leaves room for the reader to have their own opinion about the particular topic. He draws good parallels to modern day and how the while the world has changed, the problems haven't. I would recommend this book and everything else from Klosterman.  

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 5

Today’s post is on Sweat and Soap, Vol. 5 by Kintetsu Yamada.  It is 208 pages long and is published by Kodansha Comics. The cover is an illustration of Asako and Natori. As it is the fifth in the series, you need to have read the first four volumes to understand the story. There is no foul language, mild sexuality, and no violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who likes modern, sweet love stories. The story is told from third person close of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the book- Jingle Smells
With great effort, the notorious workaholic Natori has managed to carve out a real holiday break, with time away from the office to spend with his girlfriend Asako. But that doesn’t mean he’s been able to tear himself away long enough to get her a proper present, and by the time he starts looking for a Christmas reservation at the restaurant he’s had his heart set on, they’re full up! For her part, Asako’s been completely swamped- the books have to be closed for the end of the year, so ‘tis the season to log overtime in the accounting department!

Review- Asako and Natori get to spend Christmas and New Year’s together and with family. Natori finally meets Asako’s father and they get along. Then the rest of the volume is about them hunting for an apartment together. Once again this series shines in the characters and their relationships. There are no stupid misunderstands, no love triangle drama, just two people in love and working towards a life together. By working with each other they find a perfect place for them in the future. I look forward to more time with Asako and Natori. 

I give this manga a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood

 

Today's nonfiction post is on Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood by Stephen Mills. It is 318 pages long and is published by Henry Holt and Company. The cover is a picture of a lake with the woods behind it. The intended reader is someone who is interested in survival memoirs. There is some foul language, discussion of sexual abuse, and mild violence. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- At thirteen years old, Stephen Mills is chosen for special attention by the director of the Jewish summer camp, a charismatic social worker intent on becoming his friend. Stephen, whose father had died when he was four, places his trust in this authority figure, who first grooms and then molests him for two years.
Stephen tells no one, but the aftershocks rip through his adult life, as intense as his denial: self-loathing, drug abuse, petty crime, and horrific nightmares, all made made worse by the discovery that his abuser is moving from cap to camp, state to state, molesting other boys. Only physical and mental collapse brings Stephen to confront the truth of his boyhood and begin the painful process of recovery- as well as a decades-long crusade to stop a serial predator, find justice, and hold to account those who failed the children in their care. 
The trauma of sexual abuse is shared by one out of every six men, yet few have broken their silence. Un flinching and compulsively readable, Chosen eloquently speaks for those countless others and their families. It is a rare act of consummate courage and generosity- the indelible story of a man who faces his torment and his tormentor and, in the process, is made whole. 

Review- This is a moving memoir of survival and healing from great trauma. Mills was already traumatized before he met his abuser, as his mother refused to speak of his biological father at all, in fact she tried to erase him from their lives. So Mills felt cut off from a father figure, then his abuser comes into his life. After follows a tragically standard abuse script and Mills does not hold back on details but he does describe the events from his child's perspective. The reader travels with Mills on his long journey towards the truth and honesty about what happened to him. At times it is very hard to read this book because Mills does not hold back but I was so invested in Mills and his journey, that I could not leave him half-way. I needed to see him deal with his trauma and find life and hope on the other side. I would recommend this book but with a warning about the sexual abuse that Mills survived. 

I give this memoir a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this my local library.

Taking Down Backpage

Today's nonfiction post is on Taking Down Backpage: Fighting the World's Largest Sex Trafficker by Maggy Krell. It is 176 pages long and is published by New York University Press. The cover is a picture of the author with a seedy motel behind her. The intended reader is someone who is interested in true crime, court proceedings, and internet culture. There is mild foul language, discussion of sex an rape, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- For almost a decade, Backpage.com was the world's largest sex trafficking operation. Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, in eight hundred cities throughout the world, Backpage ran thousands of listings advertising the sale of vulnerable young people for sex. Reaping a cut from every transaction, the owners of the website raked in millions of dollars. But many of the people in the advertisements were children, some as young as twelve, who are forced into the commercial sex trade through fear, violence, and coercion.
In Taking Down Backpage, veteran California prosecutor Maggy Krell tells  the story of how she and her team battled against this sex trafficking monolith. Beginning with her early career as a young DA, she shares the evolution of the anti-human-trafficking movement. Through a fascinating combination of memoir and legal insight, Krell reveals how she and her team started with the prosecution of street pimps and ultimately took down the largest purveyor of human trafficking in the world. She shares powerful stories of interviews with survivors, sting operations, court cases, and the personal struggles that were necessary to bring Backpage executives to justices Finally, Krell examines the state of sex trafficking after Backpage and the crucial work that still remains. 

Review- An interesting examination of human trafficking from the point of view of the other side of the table. Krell starts with when she was a new prosecutor and noticed all the very young girls who were being taken in Vice stings and were saying the same things when being questioned. Over the years, she put together what was happening and she helped create a task force to stop the biggest internet page that advertising escorts. It is well written and interesting without getting too graphic with details, the average reader can understand what is happening without the gross details of what the girls lived through. I would recommend this book if you like true crime without too many gross details about the survivors. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs

Today’s nonfiction post is on She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh.  It is 187 pages long and is published by Scribner. The cover is a black and white picture of Dolly Parton with her guitar. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who is interested in Dolly Parton, her life, and her music. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the book-  Growing up amid Kansas wheat fields and airplane factories, Sarah Smarsh witnessed firsthand the particular vulnerabilities—and strengths—of women in working poverty. Meanwhile, country songs by female artists played in the background, telling powerful stories about life, men, hard times, and surviving. In her family, she writes, “country music was foremost a language among women. It’s how we talked to each other in a place where feelings aren’t discussed.” And no one provided that language better than Dolly Parton.

Smarsh challenged a typically male vision of the rural working class with her first book, Heartland, starring the bold, hard-luck women who raised her. Now, in She Come By It Natural, originally published in a four-part series for The Journal of Roots Music, No Depression, Smarsh explores the overlooked contributions to social progress by such women—including those averse to the term “feminism”—as exemplified by Dolly Parton’s life and art.

Far beyond the recently resurrected “Jolene” or quintessential “9 to 5,” Parton’s songs for decades have validated women who go unheard: the poor woman, the pregnant teenager, the struggling mother disparaged as “trailer trash.” Parton’s broader career—from singing on the front porch of her family’s cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains to achieving stardom in Nashville and Hollywood, from “girl singer” managed by powerful men to leader of a self-made business and philanthropy empire—offers a springboard to examining the intersections of gender, class, and culture.

Infused with Smarsh’s trademark insight, intelligence, and humanity, She Come By It Natural is a sympathetic tribute to the icon Dolly Parton and—call it whatever you like—the organic feminism she embodies. 

Review- An interesting series of essays about how Dolly Parton is seen by the people that she writes about in her songs, the rural and working poor. Smarsh grew up working poor and she watched her mother and grandmother listen and live the songs that Parton writes. Smarsh interviews many people, those around Parton herself, Smarsh’s friends, and music industry experts about Patron, her influence, and her business sense. Smarsh has a deep respect and love for Parton and that is reflected in these essays. The book is broken up into different sections about different times in Parton’s life and in the world around her. From when she was the ‘girl singer’ on the Porter Wagoner Show to being the boss and owning her own music label. It is an inspiring journey, about an inspiring and kind woman. We could stand to be a little more like Dolly. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Perfect World, Vol. 2

Today’s post is on Perfect World, Vol. 2 by Rie Aruga. It is 176 pages long and is published by Kodansha Comics. The cover has the two main characters on it, Tsugumi and Itsuki. As it is the second volume in the series, you need to have read the first volume to understand the story. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this series. The intended reader is someone who is interested in complicated emotional love stories. The story is told from third person close of Tsugumi with Itsuki for added plot. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- A ROCKY ROAD

After reuniting at a work party, Tsugumi begins dating her high school classmate and first crush, Itsuki, who has since sustained a spinal cord injury and now uses a wheelchair. While at first reluctant to let someone into his heart, Itsuki begins to open up to her. Tsugumi realizes that there's still so much to Itsuki that she has yet to learn, but the deeper their love grows, the tougher the realities they face become. Pitted against Tsugumi's disapproving parents, as well as Nagasawa, Itsuki's caregiver and admirer, and Koreda, Tsugumi's old classmate who wants to be something more, Tsugumi soon finds herself struggling in a relationship that the whole world seems to be against...

Review- Tsugumi and Itsuki have a hard road ahead of them. They have people on both sides telling them to break up for their own personal reasons, like her parents because they want her to have children and people who want  them for themselves. But they are trying to be honest with each other and care for each other. Of course there will be drama like Tsugumi pushing herself too hard and making herself ill and Itsuki blaming himself for not being able to help her. But in general I like where this manga is going and how honest it is about having a relationship when you have disabilities. I look forward to reading more. 

I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.