A Crazy, Loving Life with Rescue Animals

 

Laurie Zaleski grew up on a rescue farm. Not the fancy kind where donors pay to keep a variety of animals that are not wanted by their owners, or headed for the slaughterhouse. Her mother, Annie, escaped a brutal marriage with her three children and set up housekeeping in a one bedroom house with animals everywhere. Annie couldn’t bear to see animals mistreated or euthanized.

Laurie wasn’t ambitious for that kind of life, but she loved her mother. When she could afford it, she purchased a small farm and planned to move her mother to it. Unfortunately, her mother died just before the move and Laurie found herself in the rescue business. Now she has six-hundred animals and a wonderful group of volunteers to help.

If you love animals, this is a must read book. Laurie tells the story of her family and their struggles interspersed with tales of the animals. The family’s story is sometimes a little dark, but the animal stories are wonderful. The whole book is a heartwarming tribute to Annie and to Laurie’s desire to keep on with her mother’ dream.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

A Remarkable Woman in a Male Dominated World

 

Marjorie Post grew up poor. She worked with her father in their barn folding and taping cereal boxes to hold the breakfast food he was selling. All the hard work paid off . C.W. Post became the cereal king and Marjorie was heiress to his immense fortune. It didn’t come easily Marjorie had to fight he stepmother for control of the company after her father’s death, but she had to do it through her husband. Because of restrictions on women at the time, she couldn’t sit on the board. However, she was successful at controlling the company from outside.

Business success came with hard work, but love wasn’t so easy to find. Marjorie married and divorced four times. Each time she thought she’d found the right man. Each time she was wrong. Instead she filled her life collecting beautiful things and decorating her homes; one of the famous ones is Maralago now the home of Donald Trump.

The book is fiction although the author has done a great deal of research and is basically true to Marjorie’s life. The story is told in the first person. I found that a bit jarring. I typically don’t like to read historical fiction where the author pretends to be in the head of the subject. My other criticism was the amount time spent detailing Marjorie’s possession. I would have found it interesting to read more about her philanthropies and business career. However, it’s fascinating to learn more about one of America’s most celebrated heiresses.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

A Talented Boy, a Priceless Violin, and a Mystery

 

Ray McMillan is an unlikely candidate to become a world famous violinist. Growing up in rural North Carolina, his mother thought music was a waste of time. Luckily he had a wonderful grandmother who supported his talent and even gave him an old violin, a family heirloom handed down from the days when his family were slaves.

Ray blossoms as a musician and when he discovers that the violin he loves is really a Stradivarius his career takes off. However, not all the people in Ray’s circle are good. On the eve of the most important competition of his life, the Tchaikovsky Competition, the violin is stolen. The thief asks for a ransom of five million dollars. Now with the competition hanging over his head, Ray must discover who is responsible and get his violin back.

This is a wonderful story. Ray is determined, talented and kind. His character makes the story. His grandmother is also a delightful character. Her belief and support of Ray is inspirational. However, not all the other characters are as appealing. There are plenty of bad actors including his mother.

The music background of the story is well done. The author is a musician and it is evident in his ability to portray the classical music world. He highlights the prejudice faced by a black classical musician. There is plenty of jealousy and competitiveness in the music world. The author clearly knows what he is writing about.

This book is more than a mystery. It is the portrait or a talented young man fighting against the odds to succeed in a career he loves.

I received this book from Vintage Books and Anchor Books for this review.

A Chilling Look at China’s Takeover of Hong Kong

 

Once a British colony, Hong Kong came under China’s control through an agreement signed in 1984. In the agreement Hong Kong was to have the status of a Special Administrative Region under China. Freedom of speech, the press, religion, and the rule if law were supposed to be guaranteed. However, China began to slowly dismantle these freedoms. The author points out numerous cases where this has happened and is still happening.

The chilling part of the narrative is that China is looking ahead to take over other regions such as Taiwan and the islands in the South China Sea. The book is an eye-opener. China has an aging population and as such needs to advance quickly while there are still young people capable of sustaining it’s military. The world can expect to see an increased suppression of freedom as China plots to take over other areas.

This is a very well done book. The author lived in Hong Kong for many years. He has first hand knowledge of what’s happening and how it’s affecting the people. I didn’t know much about Hong Kong and it’s relationship to China before reading this book. Now I feel much more aware of the problems not only Hong Kong, but the rest of the world is facing from China.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

A What-If Tale of Agatha Christie’s Disappearance

 

In December 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared. What happened during that time is still unknown. This is an historical fiction recreation of the events. Agatha’s disappearance was triggered by her husband Archie telling her that he was leaving her and getting divorce. Archie had been having an affair with Nan O’Dea. He planned to marry her In reality his mistress and second wife was Nancy Neele.

The story is told from Nan’s point of view. In the opening she is presented as a scheming home-wrecker, a rather unattractive character. However, Nan has a backstory. It’s tragic and it drives her desire for the kind of life Archie offers. Of course, since this is a Christie story there is a mystery that is solved at the end.

The book is well written. However, there were several aspects that were not what I expected. The period was true to life, but I had expected more about Agatha. Instead the novel focuses on Nan. Although Nan becomes more sympathetic as we learn more of her story, I never completely got over my initial dislike.

This story is more than a murder mystery. The novel is character driven and explores the strength of love and loss.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

A Look at Mental Illness Today

 

Dr. Lucy Foulkes, the author, herself a sufferer with anxiety and depression, gives a clear description of many of the problems plaguing the identification and treatment of mental illness today. There are more effective treatments for mood disorders than there were in the past, but there is also much news about the subject. The main stream media is often more sensationalist than helpful in discussing treatment options.

Dr. Foulkes simplifies many of the concepts and deals with a wide variety of topics from social media in both good and bad aspects to the way we talk about mental health symptoms and how it can help people to be more accepting. However, it can create an environment where people not experiencing actual medical symptoms can get caught up in diagnosis and treatment whether they need it or not. While effective in severe cases, the treatments also come with side effects that can be devastating.

I found this a very readable book on a somewhat difficult and controversial subject. It provides good technical information. It also provides a perspective on both individual mental health problems and treatments and gives a perspective on the societal problems of mental health identification and treatment.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

A Look at the Potential for Civil War

 

The book is divided into two parts: the factors influencing the start of a civil war and how to prevent the civil war from occurring. I thought the first section was well done and interesting. The second section didn’t live up to the promise of the first.

Although WWII was supposed to end armed conflict, it clearly did not. The wars have become civil wars affecting individual countries. One of the main reasons for conflict described by the author is factionalism. In this concept political ideology is replaced by ethnic and religious identity. The identification with ones own group and the perceived injustice from other groups is a tinderbox for conflict. Clearly, some of these problems are identifiable in the US today as well as in other countries.

The second half of the book was more problematic. Here the author’s political views seem to intrude on the argument. She believes that gun control, more control by the federal government as opposed to the states, and limits of free speech on social media will ameliorate the situation. From my observation, the current administration is trying these ideas, but we seem to be veering toward more violence rather than less. This may be due to a lack of understanding of the real causes of the current dissatisfaction. The white middle class, justifiably in my view, feels marginalized. Whenever a group feels put down, there is a tendency to hate those in other groups that appear to be getting more perks. Therefore, while this book has an interesting premise, I believe it is basically a political rather than a scholarly document.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.