Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People

Today's nonfiction post is on Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon. It is 400 pages long and is published by Candlewick Press. The cover is yellow with different pictures of the Black Panther Party and it's members. The intended reader is someone who someone who is interested in the history of the Black Panther Party and American history. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and discussion of violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In this comprehensive, inspiring, and all-too-relevant history of the Black Panther Party, Kekla Magoon introduces readers to the Panthers’ community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens. For too long the Panthers’ story has been a footnote to the civil rights movement rather than what it was: a revolutionary socialist movement that drew thousands of members—mostly women—and became the target of one of the most sustained repression efforts ever made by the U.S. government against its own citizens.
Revolution in Our Time puts the Panthers in the proper context of Black American history, from the first arrival of enslaved people to the Black Lives Matter movement of today. Kekla Magoon’s eye-opening work invites a new generation of readers grappling with injustices in the United States to learn from the Panthers’ history and courage, inspiring them to take their own place in the ongoing fight for justice.

Review- This is a very well written and interesting account of the Black Panther Party and its members. Magoon covers the history of African Americans from slavery to Jim Crow laws and why the Black Panther Party was and still is needed. Magoon also profiles the major players in the Party and how they worked together to make a difference in their communities. Nothing is held back from reasons why the Party was needed from police brutality to black citizens to the free breakfast programs. The Party was more than just black men with guns, they were about protecting innocent people, feeding hungry children, and helping citizens understand their rights as Americans. I would recommend this book for those interested in American history and African American history. 

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.

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, vol 7

 

Today's post is on Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, vol 7 by Rin Mikimoto. It is 200 pages long and is published by Kodansha Comics. As it is the seventh in the long running series, you need to have read the first sex volumes to understand the story. The cover has the two main characters on it, looking cute in pjs. There is no foul language, mild sexuality, and mild violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the two main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Disbanded
With Mitsuki constantly threatening to ruin everything Kaede loves, Kaede has decided it's time for Hinana to learn the truth. When Kaede whos up at Hinana's door, he's prepared to tell her all the terrible things he did to Funny Bone. But will this really make Hinana and Kaede's bond stronger? When their relationship is tested by Misuki's onslaughts, Kaede may be pushed to take more drastic measures!

Review- Kaede tells Hinana what happened in his past with the guys from Funny Bone and tragic loss that they all had. They went to the same school and wanted to climb to the stop together. But Kaede discovered that he loved acting more than singing and when he told the group, they had a big fallout. Hinana understands Kaede more now and they are trying to grow together. Of course that doesn't stop his old bandmate from continuing to try and ruin their relationship. The volume ends on a cliffhanger with Hinana's mother discovering that she is dating Kaede. This series continues to impress me with how it handles hard topics and still be funny and cute. I am looking forward to the next volume. 

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.

Beneath the Stairs

Today's post is on Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett. It is 352 pages long and is published by Atria Books. The cover is dark blue with a staircase on it. The intended reader is someone who likes mysteries. There is some mild sexuality, mild foul language, and no violence.  The story is told in many ways from first person to third person, depending on the character. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the book- A woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at a local haunted house—the same place where a traumatic incident shattered their lives twenty years ago.
Few in sleepy Sumner’s Mills have stumbled across the Octagon House hidden deep in the woods. Even fewer are brave enough to trespass. A man had killed his wife and two young daughters there, a shocking, gruesome crime that the sleepy upstate New York town tried to bury. One summer night, an emboldened fourteen-year-old Clare and her best friend, Abby, ventured into the Octagon House. Clare came out, but a piece of Abby never did.
Twenty years later, an adult Clare receives word that Abby has attempted suicide at the Octagon House and now lies in a coma. With little to lose and still grieving after a personal tragedy, Clare returns to her roots to uncover the darkness responsible for Abby’s accident.

Review- An interesting mystery with some heavy emotional baggage. One teenage prank unrevealed a friendship and one girl's sanity. Clare pranked her best friend Abby in abandoned house and Abby saw something that scared her out of her mind. For the next twenty years Clare lived with this guilt but when Abby is found in the house near death, Clare must face her past and the houses' past too. A good mystery with a lot of character drama from Clare running her past, both old and new, and the house itself. The way the story is told from different characters and perspectives, it is a unusual way to tell a story. Fawcett handles it well and it adds so much to the background of the story. I look forward to reading her next book. 

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

Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties

Today's nonfiction post is on Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties by David de Jong. It is 400 pages long and is published by Marine Books. The cover is grey with tall buildings and a swastika in the center. The intended reader is someone who is interested in World War II history and how it intersects with modern culture. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A groundbreaking investigation of how the Nazis helped German tycoons make billions off the horrors of the Third Reich and World War II—and how America allowed them to get away with it. In 1946, Günther Quandt—patriarch of Germany’s most iconic industrial empire, a dynasty that today controls BMW—was arrested for suspected Nazi collaboration. Quandt claimed that he had been forced to join the party by his archrival, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, and the courts acquitted him. But Quandt lied. And his heirs, and those of other Nazi billionaires, have only grown wealthier in the generations since, while their reckoning with this dark past remains incomplete at best. Many of them continue to control swaths of the world economy, owning iconic brands whose products blanket the globe. The brutal legacy of the dynasties that dominated Daimler-Benz, cofounded Allianz, and still control Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW has remained hidden in plain sight—until now. In this landmark work of investigative journalism, David de Jong reveals the true story of how Germany’s wealthiest business dynasties amassed untold money and power by abetting the atrocities of the Third Reich. Using a wealth of previously untapped sources, de Jong shows how these tycoons seized Jewish businesses, procured slave laborers, and ramped up weapons production to equip Hitler’s army as Europe burned around them. Most shocking of all, de Jong exposes how America’s political expediency enabled these billionaires to get away with their crimes, covering up a bloodstain that defiles the German and global economy to this day.

Review- An interesting and eye-opening account about Nazi history and those who are still in power. The book starts in the present day with an interview of a CEO of a big German company and their history with the Nazi party. Then we move back to the 1930's and all the power players in German's economy during the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism. De Jong does a wonderful job of telling this story and of giving the information in clear language. He wants everyone to know and understand this story and the impact that it still has on modern German society. I would recommend this book and I would like to read more by De Jong. 

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.

Moriarty the Patriot, vol 1

 

Today's post is on Moriarty the Patriot, vol 1 by Ryosuke Takeuchi and art by Hikaru Miyoshi. It is 216 pages long and is published by Viz Media. The cover has Moriarty on it with a gun and a red background. The intended reader is someone who likes retelling classic stories. There is mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of Moriarty. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Before he was Sherlock's rival, Moriarty fought against the unfair class caste system in London by making sure corrupt nobility got their comeuppance. But even the most well-intentioned plans can spin out of control- will Moriarty's dream of a more just and equal world turn him into a hero ... or a monster?
In the late 19th century, Great Britain rules over a quarter of the world. Nobles sit in their fancy homes in comfort and luxury, while the working class slaves away at their jobs. Then young Albert James Moriarty's upper-class family adopts two lower-class orphans, the cruelty the boys experience at his family's hands cements Albert's hatred of the nobility he was born into. He asks the older of the two boys- who has a genius mind and a killer instinct- to help him rid the world of evil, starting with Albert's own family!

Review- A wonderful reimaging of the world of Sherlock Holmes. Moriarty was a abused child but he had a plan and the will to see it through. With help from natural and adopted brothers, they get revenge and freedom. From there the rest of the volume is building the world and the characters who live in it. The reader sees how badly most nobles treat everyone around them, including murdering innocent people who are just in the way. The art is very good, the plot was fascinating, and the characters are reinvented in this manga. I hope that Sherlock will be joining the cast soon because I want to see Moriarty as the good guy interacts with Sherlock, who is going to be a villain in this version. 

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.

The Crane Husband

Today's post is on The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill. It is 120 pages long and is published by TOR. The cover is a woman with feathers on her face. The intended reader is someone who likes fantasy-horror mashups. There is foul language, discussion of sex and rape, violence in this novel. The story is told from first person close of the unnamed main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- “Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters.”
A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mom, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it’s been just the three of them—her mom has brought home guests at times, but none have ever stayed.

Yet when her mom brings home a six-foot tall crane with a menacing air, the girl is powerless to prevent her mom letting the intruder into her heart, and her children’s lives. Utterly enchanted and numb to his sharp edges, her mom abandons the world around her to weave the masterpiece the crane demands.

Review- An incredible story about growing up, domestic violence, and art. The narrator, her brother and her artist mother, live on a farm. Her father had died years before. Then one day her mother brings a huge man sized crane home. They have a deeply disturbing relationship. The narrator knows that the crane is going to kill her mother but the mother refuses to listen. So the narrator decides to do whatever it takes. This story is moving, intense, and the horror is very subtle, which in my opinion makes it even more disturbing. The crane man is frightening and unsettling. Sometimes he is a six foot crane then he is man and in both forms, he is dangerous and terrifying. I would recommend this novel. 

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

The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium

Today's nonfiction post is on The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium by Barry S. Strauss. It is 368 pages long and is published by Simon & Schuster. The cover is a picture of the Battle of Actium. The intended reader is someone who is interested in the history of the Roman Empire. There is no foul language, no sex, and discussion of violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Following Caesar’s assassination and Mark Antony’s defeat of the conspirators who killed Caesar, two powerful men remained in Rome—Antony and Caesar’s chosen heir, young Octavian, the future Augustus. When Antony fell in love with the most powerful woman in the world, Egypt’s ruler Cleopatra, and thwarted Octavian’s ambition to rule the empire, another civil war broke out. In 31 BC one of the largest naval battles in the ancient world took place—more than 600 ships, almost 200,000 men, and one woman—the Battle of Actium. Octavian prevailed over Antony and Cleopatra, who subsequently killed themselves.
The Battle of Actium had great consequences for the empire. Had Antony and Cleopatra won, the empire’s capital might have moved from Rome to Alexandria, Cleopatra’s capital, and Latin might have become the empire’s second language after Greek, which was spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt.

Review- This is a very well written, in-depth examination of 15 year war after the assassination of Julius Caesar. The book starts with some basic information about Caesar and the people around him. Background information is given about Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian as the book moves forward so as to not overwhelm the reader with all the details at one time. The writing is very good and engaging, the notes are good resources, and the pace of the book is good. The pacing is very steady and helps the reader stay engaged with the narrative. I would recommend this book, I enjoyed it very much. 

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.