Rawhide Down by Del Quentin Wilber

Book Description:
On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was just seventy days into his first term of office when John Hinckley Jr. opened fire outside the Washington Hilton Hotel, wounding the president, press secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and a D.C. police officer.  For years, few people knew the truth about how close the president came to dying, and no one has ever written a detailed narrative of that harrowing day.  Now, drawing on exclusive new interviews and never-before-seen documents, photos, and videos, Del Quentin Wilber tells the electrifying story of a moment when the nation faced a terrifying crisis that it had experienced less than twenty years before, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

With cinematic clarity, we see Secret Service agent Jerry Parr, whose fast reflexes saved the president's life; the brilliant surgeons who operated on Reagan as he was losing half his blood; and the small group of White House officials frantically trying to determine whether the country was under attack. Most especially, we encounter the man code-named "Rawhide," a leader of uncommon grace who inspired affection and awe in everyone who worked with him.

Ronald Reagan was the only serving U.S. president to survive being shot in an assassination attempt.* Rawhide Down is the first true record of the day and events that literally shaped Reagan's presidency and sealed his image in the modern American political firmament.

I clearly remember the day Reagan was shot.  I was in college in Washington, DC at the time, coming back to my dorm from a class and all my friends were gathered around the little black and white portable TV in one of our rooms watching the coverage.   We all felt a kinship to the new president, having just experienced his riveting inauguration, the release of the Iran hostages, a new vitality in Washington.  There was a new excitement and polish to his presidency that spread across town - it was electric.  He had a larger than life presence, this Hollywood cowboy.  I was lucky enough to attend one of the inaugural balls and got a glimpse of him in his limousine with Nancy (alas, they were just leaving as we were arriving).  There was a light on in the back of the limousine where they were seated so the public could see them as they drove past.  I was a young twenty year old at the time, and as I saw them departing the Pension Building where the Presidential Ball was being held, all I could think of to say was a breathless, "Wow."  Not only did Ronald Reagan have that movie star glamour about him, but now he had the Presidential glamour.  It was... awesome.  (I still have a souvenir napkin from the ball we attended that night.)

Watching the scene unfold on TV, we were devastated.  No matter what your politics, it was a scary moment in history and unthinkable.  I felt like crying, I remember thinking how old Reagan was, and I was so worried for him.  He had just turned 70, the oldest president to be elected, yet he was amazingly spry for his age.  I liked him, even though I didn't vote for him.  I cared about him.  Life was taking an alarming turn around this time.  First John Lennon's death the previous fall, now Reagan shot and a few months to come, the Pope would be shot as well.  There was so much to take in.  Little did we know while watching the events on TV what was really going on behind the scenes with the attempt on Reagan.  This book answers every question about that day.

Rawhide Down is an excellent account of all that happened that day outside the Washington Hilton as Reagan was leaving from a labor union luncheon.  The events are fascinating to read about.  We get a glimpse into the daily life of the Secret Service agents on duty as well as the surprising background on the Secret Service itself.  It was quite an eye opener and I was surprised to learn of how little training was actually involved for many of the first agents, leaving it to mostly on the job training.  By the early '80's their training had been formalized, but at the time of Kennedy's assassination there had been hardly anything.

We also get the lead in to Hinckley and his motivations.  His obsession with Jodi Foster was the determining factor, but his plan to assassinate Reagan was, for the most part, a last minute decision.  Amazing.

Of course we get the full White House point of view of all that is involved with security and Reagan himself.  His schedule and routine, his background and general mien.  He's a genuinely likable man. This book brings that day all back.  The events leading up to the attack and it's aftermath are meticulously gone over.   I couldn't put the book down.  Once the shooting takes place, it's a quick read, fast paced and riveting.  His staff scrambling waiting for Vice President Bush to arrive in Washington, Alexander Haig taking command and his blunder on the air of mistaking the chain of command - all fascinating to read about!

But, I found the most compelling part of the book was what no one knew about at the time.  Reagan came dangerously close to dying.  Due to the quick thinking of one of his Secret Service men who quickly pushed him into the limousine to speed off away from the Hilton, Reagan's life was saved.  He was unaware that he'd actually been hit by a bullet which hit the limousine and ricocheted off it to go into Reagan's back, and into his lung, narrowly missing his heart.  While Hinckley was being captured and press secretary James Brady was fighting for his life in a pool of blood at the Hilton, Jerry Parr, Reagan's Secret Service man in the limousine with him, was trying to determine if Reagan was all right or not.  The president was complaining he could not breathe, but did not think he'd been shot.  At first the limo was heading back to the White House, but Parr made the split second and live saving decision to change course and take Reagan to the George Washington University hospital.

From there, we switch to GWU's Emergency Room and what happened when they got the call from the little white phone at the desk.  The phone that rarely, if ever, rings.  It's a direct line from the White House to notify them that the president has been hurt and is on his way.  Just the thought of how they all must have been freaking out!  But they didn't.  They were professionals and handled the crisis amazingly well, a lot better than Reagan's advisers at the White House who were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off!

I won't go into every little detail, you'll have to read this book for yourself, but trust me, it's great and if you are at all interested in presidential assassinations or Ronald Reagan, this is a must read.  I highly recommend it.  Wilber is a reporter for The Washington Post, and he did a pain staking job at researching and interviewing for this book.  You feel like "you are there."  Don't miss it.

5/5

*There have been many assassination attempts on U.S. presidents, four of which were successful: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. President Theodore Roosevelt was injured in an assassination attempt after leaving office.

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Bossypants by Tina Fey (audio)

Book Description:
Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin" -- Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately half-hearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

This is a very, very funny book. 

I'm an old school Saturday Night Live fan. I watched the first season with Chevy Chase, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.  I watched many a classic episode in the 70's with Steve Martin hosting.  Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman - household names!  But, as I got older I never really got into the show after high school.  Yeah sure I've seen it here and there, caught some Eddie Murphy and Dana Carvey episodes, but I wasn't a faithful watcher every Saturday night like I was back in the '70's during the Carter and Ford years.

I'm still not a faithful watcher.  Even after reading this book.  But, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the incredible talent and humor of Tina Fey.  After reading this book, I really love her!  I want to be friends with her!  I want to sit down with her in my kitchen and have her tell me more stories about her life.

"Tell me more anecdotes about your father, Don Fey!"  

 Tina always refers to her father as "Don Fey," as if in the third person.  Not "my father did this or that", it's "Don Fey did this" or "Don Fey did that."  It's never just "Don."  It's always "DonFey"  as if it's all one word.  Got it?  It's probably because he is such a cool dude, respected by all.  He doesn't take sh*t from anyone.  Alec Baldwin and Lorne Michaels are both kind of in awe of him - really!  He's also a Republican (Tina Fey is not, surprise, surprise.)

I didn't want this book to end.

"C'mon Tina, please?' Can't we hear more funny stories about college?"  or "Tell me some more stories about what a photo shoot is really like!"  Please? Please?"

One of the things I loved about this book was her take on life in general and as a working mother and dealing with all the little things that go on it with it were so true!  I can so relate to her little conundrums and problems in my own little private non-celebrity way.  I'm not famous and I don't have a full time nanny, but I know what it's like to be afraid to criticize your babysitter too!  I've been there! *raising hand* Yup!  It's adorable how she calls her nanny a babysitter instead of a nanny!  And she's the first to point it out and why she does it! She's so cute!

Those every day things and chores especially around the holidays?  Tina says things aloud - things I've been dying to say!   The way you feel about your body - particularly after having a baby or what it's like getting your nails done at a Korean nail salon in NYC - yes, been there done that.  So true!

Tina takes us on a journey from being a little girl in Pennsylvania (somewhere near Philadelphia) to head writer at Saturday Night Live to today as star and writer of 30 Rock (I've never seen it, hence the low ratings - and yet I still love her!)  We hear about what it was like for her growing up - getting her period, being hairy (she's half Greek), going to UVA, dating, her honeymoon cruise to Bermuda, her drudge job working at a YMCA in Chicago, working at Second City TV (I loved that show!), her first interview with Lorne Michaels, what it's like to work with him - and Alec Baldwin.  She's very proud of what she's accomplished as well, particularly in giving women at SNL a chance to shine.  And of course she talks about the whole Sarah Palin thing and how she got roped talked into doing it.

I'm skimming a lot and leaving about 95% of the book out.  It's short and a quick read, but trust me, it's a scream.  I don't mean you'll be screaming with laughter.  But, you will chuckle and nod your head through most of it.  She is on target with everything.

I found that after finishing it, because she had been inside my head so much (from the audiobook), I started to talk like her.  I found myself emulating Tina Fey without even realizing it.  I'd whisper funny little asides or disclaimers to nobody in particular during my busy day.  I became much more aware of things around me, as if thinking "What funny thing would Tina have to say about that?" and then I'd sort of test something out in my head.  Unfortunately, it was never quite the same and this only lasted for a few days until I realized I am not as funny as Tina Fey and never will  be!  Not even close!  I quickly gave up trying (even if it was only inside my head) and went back to normal soon enough.

One caveat about this book - you must be a woman to appreciate it fully.  I'm sorry if I sound sexist and un-PC, but it's the truth.  I just don't think guys are going to want to hear about sanitary napkins and girly girl things.  Whereas women - they'll totally get it and laugh.  I know I sure did.  Tina narrates it herself on the audiobook and it really is like hanging out with her.   She has the kind of humor and style I love.  Relating to her is easy!  Tina Fey is an inspiration on so many levels, particularly to women who want to get into her line of business.  Some of the things she discusses are hilarious!  It still boggles my mind about men and paper cups!  Her humor is sometimes deadpan, often dry and always conversational.  She doesn't sound like she's trying to get a laugh out of you.  It's seamless, subtle and magic. 

A real winner!

4.5/5

P.S. I tend to agree with her parents, the cover is kind of weird.

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Life: Keith Richards by Keith Richards (audio)

Book Description:
As lead guitarist of the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics, and the songs that roused the world. A true and towering original, he has always walked his own path, spoken his mind, and done things his own way. Now at last Richards pauses to tell his story in the most anticipated autobiography in decades. And what a story! Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records in a coldwater flat with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, building a sound and a band out of music they loved. Finding fame and success as a bad-boy band, only to find themselves challenged by authorities everywhere.  Dropping his guitar's sixth string to create a new sound that allowed him to create immortal riffs like those in "Honky Tonk Woman" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash." Falling in love with Anita Pallenberg, Brian Jones's girlfriend.  Arrested and imprisoned for drug possession.  Tax exile in France and recording Exile on Main Street.  Ever-increasing fame, isolation, and addiction making life an ever faster frenzy. Through it all, Richards remained devoted to the music of the band, until even that was challenged by Mick Jagger's attempt at a solo career, leading to a decade of conflicts and ultimately the biggest reunion tour in history.  In a voice that is uniquely and unmistakably him--part growl, part laugh--Keith Richards brings us the truest rock-and-roll life of our times, unfettered and fearless and true.

A little known fact about me, that probably none of you are remotely aware of is I was once a complete Rolling Stone junkie.  I was obsessed as a young teenager.  Posters all over my room, the Stones insignia -that giant red mouth with the shiny lips on my bedroom door...  a lifesize poster of Mick Jagger leering over my bed for everyone driving past our house to see.  What can I say?  I've been in love with the Rolling Stones for over 35 years.  I didn't just love them, I grew up with them, I learned how to play the guitar with them - by them.  Playing Rolling Stones songs as a kid, listening to the songs constantly and then becoming obsessed with them solidified my Stones mania.  Mick and Keith in particular.  I read up on them all I could - is it any wonder I'd drop everything and get this audiobook of Keith's - with Johnny Depp narrating?  Come on - it's a no brainer!

This was an amazing autobiography, love, love, loved it! Keith's story is superbly told. One of the best autobiographies I've read (or listened to).  An in depth view of life from the the resilient, indefatigable Keith Richards. Maestro, backbone, creative heartbeat and soul of the Rolling Stones.  Never would I have imagined that the stoned out, heroine addicted, dark rhythm guitarist had been a choir boy and a boy scout! Tons of revelations on life, on the road, touring, drugs, his relationship with (and without) Mick, his girlfriends, children - even his pets!  But most of all, the heart of it is the ever expanding love of his craft - the guitar and his music.

There are parts that get bogged down a bit in their early years.  If you're not already aware of who the blues and jazz greats of Chicago were at the time, your eyes may glaze over as Keith extols over the greatness of these musicians.  I remember reading  their names way back when during my Stones obsession when I was thirteen or so: Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, playing at the Crawdaddy Club.  The early Stones were into rhythm and blues, that was their shtick.  They then morphed into rock n' roll later.

One of the most amazing things Keith reveals is the fact that he was actually a choirboy - and a Boy Scout! It's almost a joke - as if he's putting us on heh, heh, "Let's fuck with their heads and make them think I was a choir boy and a Boy Scout - you think they'll believe it?"  Well, let me raise my hand - I can't help but wonder, "Is he putting us on?"  He was a soprano in a boy's choir in Dartford where he grew up and actually sang before the queen in the 1950's.  On top of that he was really into scouting! He was even a patrol leader and to this day remembers it all - Keith remembers everything!  I was really surprised and loved the accounting of his life. 

In case you're not sure who Keith is, he's the dark horse, mangy, scary looking Stone who plays rhythm guitar while Mick struts across the stage, always in the limelight.  Keith sings, but his speaking voice is gravelly, sexy, nearly incomprehensible.  Yet his singing voice sounds so different!  High and somewhat weak in the early years, he rarely sang except in harmony vocals with Mick.  Never solo.  Many of his songs, particularly on the "Steel Wheels" album are my favorites.  "Can't Be Seen With You" and "Slipping Away" are great.  His voice is good on them too.  He really got into singing more in his later years and it shows.  I can barely stand to listen to Mick on that album now, Keith is so much better and his songs are soulful with some beautiful melodies.  Who'd have thought?  Many of the Stones' great songs were written by Keith, they're his music, while Jagger mostly wrote lyrics, but later on wrote some big hits as well, such as "Miss You."

Keith was pretty cute in his early days of the '60's and '70's, you'd never know it now, with that leathery look about him.  Check out his eyes, they've seen a lot over the years.  I've seen the Stones twice in concert, first time was in 1981 on the "Tattoo You" tour. Keith looked very muscular onstage, I was surprised, I thought he'd look like a wasted heroine addict.  He was off the stuff by then.  Wearing a black leather vest and nothing underneath.  Even from where I was, somewhere back in the crowd on an outdoor day in Philadelphia, he was someone to watch and follow.  Keith was steady, much more than Mick, who was doing all his gyrations and turns and bumps and grinds with  "Start Me Up" blasting.  Keith held my attention, he looked focused and strong.  Mick just looked, well... stupid.  Ah, memories.  The second time I saw them was on their "Steel Wheels" tour around 1989 at the Meadowlands at Giant Stadium.  I remember it was a good concert, but not nearly as memorable as the Philadelphia gig.  I don't even remember what Keith or Mick were wearing at that one - it was at night, outdoors, but I was older and more sedate by then.  We actually had seats at that concert. *grin* I was married, but no kids yet.

Growing up an only child in a poor post-WWII Dartford, Keith got into scouting and singing in the school choir.  But when his voice changed at around age 13 he was booted out of the choir and he was lost.  He became a rebel after that, but still kept with the scouting until he heard Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel and began playing the guitar.  That was it.  His advice on guitar playing really interested me, for his advice is almost exactly what I did growing up.  If you want to learn how to play the guitar, start with the basics and learn on an acoustic.  Then work your way up to steel string and electric.  I only got as far as acoustic with the gut strings (steel hurt my tender fingers too much) but I played and played constantly developing the much needed callouses.  Luckily my older brother was just as into it as I was and he taught me alot.  We'd jam together up on our third floor blasting "Sticky Fingers" and playing "Sway" and "Wild Horses," I was singing and wailing away on  "Dead Flowers" over and over until we got it right.  I was rhythm and my brother was lead.  Hard to believe nowadays.  I was very interested in Keith's trick by tuning his guitar with just five strings to get that quintessential sound.  I play by ear most of the time nowadays and can learn a song simply by hearing it and playing it over and over - the same way Keith learned in his early days playing the guitar!  Lots of craftmanship and hints and instruction abounds throughout his book.  As he says at one point, musicians are always happy to help fellow musicians get it right.  I haven't picked my Yamaha up in years - but I still have the same one I had from 1973-unbroken, no less!  (I think it needs new strings - but that's about it.)  I think it's about time I took that baby out of it's case - I'm so in the mood to jam again!

Everything you've ever wanted to know about the Stones you can probably find out in Keith's book.  He pulls no punches and tells is like it is. 

Keith was the real leader of the Stones.  He rounded people up and got them to do stuff.  Of course, during his heroine years, he might keep them waiting around for hours and hours, but he'd make up for it by not going to sleep for days to finish recording a track!  He managed his heroine addiction to a tee, it was quite an art when you think about it.  He's very open about it, I feel like, if the need ever arose, which I don't think it ever will thank-you-very-much, I would know just how to cut heroine - but it would have to be the good stuff.  He lived with heroine for over 10 years, both he and his wife/girlfriend Anita Pallenberg were junkies -what an existence - but they managed it.

Keith's not malicious or spiteful, you can tell, he's just telling the truth about how he saw things.  He's candid about Brian Jones and Mick Jagger - he doesn't hold his feeling back.  He tells you exactly what he thought and still thinks of them.  He basically hated Brian who had a mean streak.  It was refreshing and clear - despite the 10+ years of when he was a heroine addict.  Keith basically comes across as a great guy, a nice guy, a decent guy who just wants to play music and doesn't want to have to deal with egos and one particular member's LVS (lead vocalist syndrome) attempt to branch off to a solo career and undermined a record deal to do it.  Keith is loyal and a friend for life but Mick's subterfuge really pissed him off.  A must for any Stones fan, I cannot recommend it enough.  I also liked the way the audio was set up.  Johnny Depp did most of it as Keith before heroine, and then after heroine.  During the heroine years, the voice is different, narrated by Joe Hurley, a fellow musician.  He's more like Keith's real voice, slurry, sloshy, very British and just plain ... cool.

5/5

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First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life by Eve Brown-Waite

Book Description:
In this laugh-out-loud funny memoir, a pampered city girl falls head over little black heels in love with a Peace Corps poster boy and follows him -”literally -“to the ends of the earth.

Eve Brown always thought she would join the Peace Corps someday, although she secretly worried about life without sushi, frothy coffee drinks and air conditioning. But with college diploma in hand, it was time to put up or shut up. So with some ambivalence she arrives at the Peace Corps office,€sporting her best safari chic attire -“to casually look into the steps one might take if one were to become a global humanitarian, a la Angelina Jolie. But when Eve meets John, her dashing young Peace Corps recruiter, all her ambivalence flies out the window. She absolutely must join the Peace Corps - and win John's heart in the process. Off to Ecuador she goes and - after a year in the jungle - back to the States she runs, vowing to stay within easy reach of a decaf cappuccino for the rest of her days.

But life had other plans. Just as she's getting reacquainted with the joys of toilet paper, John gets a job with CARE and Eve must decide if she's up for life in another third world outpost. Before you can say, "pass the malaria prophylaxis," the couple heads off to Uganda, and the fun really begins-if one can call having rats in your toilet fun. Fortunately, in Eve's case one certainly can, because to her, every experience is an adventure to be embraced and these pages come alive with all of the alternatively poignant and uproarious details.

With wit and candor, First Comes Love, then Comes Malaria chronicles Eve's misadventures as an aspiring do-gooder. From intestinal parasites to getting caught in a civil war, culture clashes to unexpected friendships, here is an honest and laugh-out-loud funny look at the search for love and purpose,”from a woman who finds both in the last place she expected.

I really did enjoy reading this book, even though it took me forever to do it! Buying it on Kindle with every intention of reading it while working out at the gym, I thought I'd breeze through it! Ahem, not exactly, since I haven't been to the gym in over a month! But, I finally decided, I've just got to get into it and finish it, which I did today!

I have a few personal reasons for picking this book up, one is I have a sister who was in the Peace Corps in Iran (to be with the man she wanted to marry and the only way they could go together was if they were married) and I have a "do-gooder" niece who has been all over, not unlike Eve, first in S. America, then in Africa (with the man she loves) and now in India! I found there were many similarities in this book to my niece's story, and I wonder just how many Peace Corps and CARE volunteers really join up because they are head over heels in love and want to go for that reason!

I did laugh out loud reading Eve's memoirs, for one thing, she is the same age as me, and I could so relate, she even got married around the same time I did, and she had her first child the same year I did! I knew where her head was at, despite that I was living in suburban NJ, and she was living in the middle of nowhere in Uganda! This was a great book to give you insight as to what it's like for a city girl in America to suddenly go live in near poverty stricken lands, where no one speaks your language and danger is a way of life. When Eve first goes to Ecuador on her own, it's a bit frightening to her, and she eventually must leave due to the fact she nearly falls apart after a friend is raped and she must come to terms with her own memories of being molested, which she had repressed her whole life. Still, that is a minor part of the story, the main part is her love for John, her Peace Corps poster boy who she marries and goes to Africa with. John - or Saint John as she affectionately refers to him as, was born to be in the Peace Corps or some other similarly humanitarian type of world organization, and Eve willingly goes wherever he leads.

Their life in Uganda is different to say the least. They become friends with many other expats and live in the bush, hardly any electricity or running water, yet they play badminton and tennis daily and drink gin and tonics to keep the malaria away (although Eve still manages to come down with it.) We see Eve change from a total scaredy cat ninny who can't do anything on her own to an experienced young woman and mother who can host a dinner party, buy a fish in a busy marketplace and entertain her inlaws all in one day! Doesn't sound like much, but it's quite a feat in Arua, which is really a dirtwater town. The book is filled him humorous anecdotes and I totally could relate to Eve's squeamishness and fear of many things, as well as her woes as a young mother or the many different smells associated with living it up in the rough during a drought! Thank God she had her husband John and many friends and servants to help her. By the end of their three years in Uganda, she didn't want to leave and it was in her blood (along with the malaria.)

This was a departure for me, but I'm glad I read it to get an eyeful of what it's like living in a third world country. It makes you realize it's possible, yet it also really makes you realize just how poor and behind the times these countries are, and what a long way to go they have to catch up with the rest of the world - or whether it's ever going to be possible. So much of what we take for granted in the West is an absolute luxury in a third world country - this book really points it out and brings it home.

Give this book a try, it's an entertaining read and all true. I'm sure if I had been reading it in regular book form, I would have raced through it, it goes pretty fast, and Eve is very likable and unpretentious as is her writing, not a bit holier than thou or preachy - she's a natural!

4/5

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His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis

Book Description:
To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the Revolutionary era. Training his lens on a figure who sometimes seems as remote as his effigy on Mount Rushmore, Ellis assesses George Washington as a military and political leader and a man whose “statue-like solidity” concealed volcanic energies and emotions.

Here is the impetuous young officer whose miraculous survival in combat half-convinced him that he could not be killed. Here is the free-spending landowner whose debts to English merchants instilled him with a prickly resentment of imperial power. We see the general who lost more battles than he won and the reluctant president who tried to float above the partisan feuding of his cabinet. His Excellency is a magnificent work, indispensable to an understanding not only of its subject but also of the nation he brought into being.

The basic premise of this book is the author wanted to write about Washington the man and what made him tick. Why did he do the things he did, what drove him on? Who was he really, did he have a heart? What were his thoughts and desires?

A tall order, considering all of Washington's private letters and correspondence were burned after his death by his wife, Martha. We'll never know for sure what sort of sweet endearments he wrote to her, or what his private thoughts and feelings were when he was commanding the Continental Army and watching his men die of smallpox and walk barefoot and bleading in the snow at Valley Forge. What did he really think of Thomas Jefferson when he found out Jefferson was scheming to make people believe Washington was growing senile and was under the thumb of Alexander Hamilton? We'll never know for sure, but this author did his best to come up with some pretty good assumptions and conjectures, but nothing concrete due to the lack of primary source materials.

Washington has been described as larger than life, stalwart, strong, a good soldier, majestic on his white destrier - leading his troops to victory and the final win of the American Revolution at the Battle of Yorktown. Yet, he was an enigma. He was close mouthed, quiet, a listener. He had never been one to shoot his mouth off and chatter on like a John Adams. He took in the scenery and listened to what his men told him. Then he made decisions. From some of his letters that were saved, which were from his war correspondence or dull letters to British merchants or tradesman, it is possible that Washington had quite a voluble temper and one of his greatest achievements was the fact that no one knew it. He was always in control in view of the public and his troops as a commander. It was to hide his fiery emotions that he kept in check. More than one acquaintance commented on the fact that they could see this is how he was. They could imagine the emotions brewing beneath the surface, yet Washington would never show his real emotions, because it was his honor and reputation at stake. He came across as cold and aloof - above the fray. He was perfect for the job of commander and the first president of the United States. If ever there was a man born for the job, it was Washington.

According to this book, Washington's driving force was how he meant to be perceived by all. His reputation and honor were crucial to him. Because of this, he kept all his regular correspondence dull and dry and to the point with no emotion or feeling. Just simply orders. If he did say or write something that he felt might come back to haunt him, he went back and edited it years later for posterity's sake. Many of his actions and orders during the Revolutionary War were based on how he felt it would show him in history and he did the same as president and even in his last will and testament in which he finally freed all his slaves. Probably the only ones who really knew him for who he really was were his close servants, Martha and his close personal friends. Not a sign of the living and breathing human George Washington with a passion or sense of humor comes across in any of his writing.

I can't say I really liked the man after reading this book. I got the feeling the author didn't either. It wasn't a very grandiose or flattering portrayal of Washington. He came across as often petty, opportunistic, holding a grudge and parsimonious. Land was a big issue with him and he didn't hesitate in taking the lion's share when it was offered. He married Martha Custis, a rich widow who owned a lot of land in Virginia, even though he loves another woman (albeit she was married.) His marriage is made to sound like a calculated move on Washington's part to raise him in status and wealth. It was a good marriage for both, although there were no children (it is believed that Washington was sterile since Martha had two children from her previous marriage.) Ironic since he is known as "the father of our country."

I won't go into any more details, of which there were plenty, but the book was not the most entertaining read, I found it a bit of a chore, thankfully it was short. This was not like a David McCullough book, it reminded me more of something I had to read as a history major in college. High on fact and details. Washington is depicted as this great icon of the American Revolution and founder of the Nation, but at the same time, I had the unsettling feeling that we'll never know what he was really like. Most of this book was the author's impressions and not much on how Washington's contemporaries viewed him. I couldn't help getting the feeling this author had an axe to grind when it came to George Washington. Still, I do plan on reading his biography on Thomas Jefferson eventually. At least Jefferson's letters were saved which will shed more light on him than Washington.

2.5/5

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The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

Book Description:
A true story—as powerful as Schindler's List—in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.

When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants—otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes.

With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her.

I can't remember where I heard about this book, probably on some list, but I decided to read it for it sounded good to me, and I'm interested in reading about WII experiences. The book was pretty good, but it was no Schindler's List, although similar as far as helping the Jews during WWII. I found the writing a bit awkward, based on Antonina Zabiniski's memoirs. The narration would switch back and forth to what Antonina was thinking, to what she might have been thinking, and I found that a bit distracting. I had to keep reminding myself that it was non-fiction, for the narration sometimes made it sound like it was fiction and then would flip flop to non-fiction. It wasn't that bad, but a bit annoying. Still, it was a moving story about courage and goodness in the face of the horror of the Nazis and the occupation of Warsaw during WWII.

It's obviously well researched, the story itself is one of bravery and determination of the many people that lived in Warsaw and the Jewish Ghetto during the German occupation and how this wonderful couple who owned a zoo helped the Polish Underground to rescue hundreds of Jews from the Ghetto who would have ultimately faced death in the camps without their help. Parts of it were touching and frightening, especially one devastating scene towards the end with German soldiers coming to the zoo and threatening to shoot them, but often I found the book a bit dry and unemotional, even though everything about the book should have felt emotional. I think it was just too much like a well researched historical paper, rather than an emotional rendition of the events that happened to these people.

Not only was the story about the Zabiniski's, but it also gave you the background on a lot of the people they rescued, who lived with them temporarily. The zoo was like a weigh station for those being spirited out of Warsaw. There was a woman sculptress, a man who was a dentist and collected beetles (I could have done without the lengthy three page description of his entire collection), his wife and various other people that they helped.

I enjoyed reading about the various animals at the zoo, many who had personalities of their own. Badger and this big rabbit that would steal all the food, a cute little piglet that their little boy, Ryc, would play with as a pet (it was heartbreaking when the Germans took it away from him all of a sudden with no warning). It was also interesting to read about some of the Germans who came to Warsaw, Lutz Heck in particular, who ran a zoo in Germany and offered to help take some of the animals from their zoo to Germany for safe keeping during the war. He was a liar, and most likely never had any intention of returning them, but he was very interested in genetics and bringing back some extinct species of prehistoric horses and cattle (the Nazis wanted to have the cattle for hunting purposes). At one point it was sickening reading about how the Germans soldiers would go hunting for pleasure in their zoo, shooting the poor animals for the fun of it.

I'm glad I read this book, but it was a bit of a chore because of the way it was written. I think it's an important story to be told about the danger and willingness of this couple to save so many people, but the author just didn't capture me. I was not at the edge of my seat over this book, and the book description makes it sound much more exciting that it was. But, it's a non-fiction, well researched book that tells a moving true story of good people during a terrible time in the history of Poland.

3/5

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