Review: Scapegoat: A Flight Crew’s Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption by Emilio Corsetti III

Title: Scapegoat: A Flight Crew’s Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption
Author: Emilio Corsetti III
Publisher: Odyssey Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: August 1, 2016
Edition: Hardcover (472 pages)

Scapegoat: A Flight Crew's Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption by Emilio Corsetti III

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


TWA flight 841 was a routine flight from JFK Airport in New York to Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the evening of April 4, 1979, until it plunged nearly six miles and nearly crashed into the ground. Thanks to the crew's actions, it did not crash, and no lives were lost. However, that drop out of the sky was just the beginning of the story of TWA flight 841 and the efforts of the flight's captain and others to vindicate what many believed to be improper actions of the crew!

The author presents the known facts, theories, and the experiences of the crew, and well as the hypotheses put forth by the National Transportation Safety Board to explain this near disaster. Though this is a nonfiction work, it reads like a mystery novel, in many respects, because you have no idea what is going to happen next. Not only is the story an interesting one, but I learned something about aviation also.

I received an advance reader's copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Lynn's List (July 29, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading! It has been a busy week, so this week's list is a bit on the short side.

• Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly
• Sheltering Rain by Jojo Moyes
• Beauty and the Blacksmith by Tessa Dare
• The Holocaust: History and Memory by Jeremy M. Black
• Where God Begins to Be: A Woman's Journey into Solitude by Karen Fredette
• The 103rd Ballot: The Legendary 1924 Democratic Convention That Forever Changed Politics by Robert Keith Murray
• My Bondage, My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
• Soldiers of Fortune by Richard Harding Davis
• The Letters of John and Abigail Adams by John Adams
• Harriet Tubman: The Moses of her People by Sarah H. Bradford
• The Colored Cadet at West Point by Henry Ossian Flipper
• The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
• Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria by Kevin Mcmurray
• The Sinners Garden by William Sirls
• 44 Days: 75 Squadron and the Fight for Australia by Michael Veitch
• The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
• The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
• Girl: My Childhood and the Second World War by Alona Frankel

Review: Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon by Buzz Aldrin and Ken Abraham

Title: Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon
Authors: Buzz Aldrin and Ken Abraham
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Publication Date: June 23, 2009
Edition: ebook (338 pages)

Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon by Buzz Aldrin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. He recounts his experiences during that Apollo 11 mission in 'Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon'. This is a candid autobiography.

As I read this book, I realized how shallow I have been in my thinking of people such as Dr. Aldrin. Achievement of great things is one part of his life, and like all of us, personal struggles are also a part of his life. His struggles include alcoholism and depression. He is an overcomer--and though it took him a while to begin to deal with these difficult aspects of his life, he finally addressed them. I applaud him for writing about them openly and with candor.

I also marvel at Dr. Aldrin's passion for space exploration which he still advocates today. This book is an example of triumph over adversity that doesn't quit. It also does not underplay human failings, so it is real life, not just a glossy representation of it.

Lynn's List (July 22, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Slow Burn by Terrence Mccauley
• Auschwitz by Bruno Bettelheim, Richard Seaver, Tibere Kremer and Miklos Nyiszli
• Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
• A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl by Susie Finkbeiner
• Queen of the Mersey by Maureen Lee
• I Will Find You by Joanna Connors
• Wagon Train Sisters by Shirley Kennedy
• What She Wanted by Julie Anne Lindsey
• The Witnesses by James Patterson and Brendan Dubois
• The Sunlight Pilgrims: A Novel by Jenni Fagan
• Bush by Jean Edward Smith
• Memory Man by David Baldacci
• Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
• Tragedy in the Shenandoah Valley: The Story of the Summers-Koontz Execution by Robert H. Moore II
• The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans
• The Third Reich at War: 1939-1945 by Richard J. Evans
• Nagasaki by Susan Southard
• Eve of a Hundred Midnights: The Star-Crossed Love Story of Two WWII Correspondents and Their Epic Escape Across the Pacific by Bill Lascher
• Martha and Eva: A Mother and Daughter's Journey as German Refugees During WWII by Baker Eva
• Murder Over Kodiak: An Alaska Wilderness Mystery Novel by Barefield Robin
• The Landmen: How They Secured the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Right-of-Way by Armand Spielman and Michael Travis
• Legacy: The True Inglorious History of President Obama by Petteice Irene
• And Darkness Fell by David Berardelli
• After Darkness Fell by David Berardelli
• Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8 by Robert Zimmerman
• Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln And The Soldiers' Home by Matthew Pinsker
• Holocaust: An American Understanding by Deborah E. Lipstadt
• Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon by Deke Slayton, Neil Armstrong and Alan Shepard
• Saving Alice: A Novel by David Lewis
• Simple Gifts by Andrew Grey
• Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life by Lisa Chaney
• Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts
• Damage by John Lescroart
• No Place to Run by Maya Banks
• Once Upon a Rose by Nora Roberts, Jill Gregory, Marianne Willman and Ruth Ryan Langan

Review: The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin

Title: The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson
Author: Jeffrey Toobin
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Publication Date: March 27, 2013
Edition: ebook (496 pages)

The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Much has been written about the O. J. Simpson case and the subsequent criminal and civil trials. Jeffrey Toobin's book is not the first I've read on the subject, but it is the first commentary I have read that is inclusive, and chronological with respect to the presentation of events. In my opinion, Mr. Toobin went out of his way to be fair-minded and accurate without compromising his own personal beliefs as to the guilt or innocents of O. J. Simpson. I also found this book to be an all-too-real study in the practice of law and the nuances of the legal profession with many of its good and not so good points on display.

Review: The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Scott Dodson

Title The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Author: Scott Dodson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Date: January 31, 2015
Edition: Hardcover (326 pages)

The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Scott Dodson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


'The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg' by Scott Dodson chronicles the life and achievements of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg--more so from the perspective of her impact on women's rights as a law school professor, Appellate Court Judge, and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice--with her personal life as wife and mother added in. Each chapter is written by those who know Justice Ginsburg through her work as well as those who know her as a person.

I found the book interesting, though some may find it geared more toward legal arguments and construct analysis rather than the biographical approach which they may be expecting. What I found most interesting were the opinions and reasoning of some of the other Justices in key cases, and I marveled at Justice Ginsburg's ability to make her points skillfully and adroitly without exploding in temper as I wanted to do when reading certain comments in quoted opinions. Justice Ginsburg is ever mindful of the past and its ability to teach us, while keeping an eye on the future.

Lynn's List (July 15, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Illusion: A Novel by Frank Peretti
• Fall from Grace: A Novel by Richard North Patterson
• The Time In Between: A Novel by Maria Duenas
• So Much Pretty: A Novel by Cara Hoffman
• Solace: A Novel by Belinda Mckeon
• Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie J. Davis and Beth Clark
• Missing: A Memoir by Lindsay Harrison
• The Last Witness by Glenn Meade
• The Butterfly Cabinet: A Novel by Bernie Mcgill
• Book of Dreams: A Novel by Davis Bunn
• The Making of Us: A Novel by Lisa Jewell
• Off Balance: A Memoir by Paul Williams, Teri Williams and Dominique Moceanu
• A Bolt from the Blue: The Epic True Story of Danger, Daring, and Heroism at 13,000 Feet by Jennifer Woodlief
• Notorious RBG by Shana Knizhnik and Irin Carmon
• A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided by Amanda Foreman
• Franklin and Winston: A Portrait of a Friendship by Jon Meacham
• Me by Katharine Hepburn
• The Escape by Mary Balogh
• One True Loves: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo
• Monday's Lie by Jamie Mason
• Dancing with the Devil by Rodney Barker
• D-Day: Minute by Minute by Jonathan Mayo
• An Empty Lap by Jill Smolowe
• The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
• The Silent Wife byA. S. A. Harrison
• Silent No More by Michael Gillum, Dawn Daniels and Aaron Fisher
• No Right to Remain Silent by Lucinda Roy
• The Best of Willa Cather by Willa Cather
• The Novels of Jane Austen by Jane Austen
• The House on Henry Street by Lillian D. Wald
• A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison by James E. Seaver
• A Shadow of All Night Falling: Book One of A Cruel Wind by Glenn Cook
• October's Baby: Book Two of A Cruel Wind by Glenn Cook
• The Valhalla Exchange by Jack Higgins
• The House of the Whispering Pines by Anna Katharine Green
• The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates
• The ABCs of Socialism by Bhaskar Sunkara and Phil Wrigglesworth
• The End of White Christian America by Robert P. Jones
• Searching for Harmony: A Boston Love Novel by Kelly Elliott
• The Innocents by Ace Atkins
• Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman by Mary Mann Hamilton
• All Roads Lead to Calvary by Jerome K. Jerome
• The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Scott Dodson
• Galileo by David Wootton
• Shackles of Iron: Slavery Beyond the Atlantic by Alfred J. Andrea and Stewart Gordon
• Letters from Lighthouse Cottage by Ali Mcnamara
• Touch the Sky by Eric Velasquez and Ann Malaspina
• The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin
• Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
• The Last One: A Novel by Alexandra Oliva
• Fly a Little Higher: How God Answered One Mom's Small Prayer in a Big Way by Laura Sobiech

Review: The Woman in the Photo: A Novel by Mary Hogan

Title: The Woman in the Photo: A Novel
Author: Mary Hogan
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: June 14, 2016
Edition: ebook (432 pages)

The Woman in the Photo by Mary Hogan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


'The Woman in the Photo' combines past and present and the fictional lives of two young women--one, Lee Parker, eighteen years old, adopted, and wanting to know where she came from--and the other, Elizabeth Haberlin, a young girl of wealth and privilege, wanting to know how a disaster of epic proportion and loss of life could have been allowed to happen. Both are brought together in this fictional story with the historic Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood of May 31, 1889, serving as the catalyst.

Mary Hogan alternates between past and present as she tells the stories of both young girls who undergo a metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood as a result of personal disaster in their lives. The characters are strong and imperfect; and I wanted to reach out and hug them.
This book is also rich with historical detail about the Johnstown flood, and carries with it an ongoing cautionary warning about present day excesses and the divide between rich and poor in our country. It was a great read.

Review: The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

Title: The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
Author: Ann Weisgarber
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: August 12, 2010
Edition: Hardcover (336 pages)

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Rachel and Isaac DuPree were married in Chicago in 1903. She loved him, and they struck a bargain that she would go with him to the bad lands of South Dakota to homestead. The beauty of the land in the interminable hardship prairie settlers faced are the bread and butter of this beautifully written story. Strong characters, strong backs, sacrifice and determination abound as Rachel and Isaac eek out a life. But just how much are both of them willing to sacrifice for the land and for their children?

This book pulled at my emotions with every page, and I could see, in my mind's eye, the land, the circumstances and the people, as the story unfolded before me. This story is a poignant example that sometimes, in life, you do what you must instead of what you prefer.

Review: America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Title: America's First Daughter
Authors: Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: March 1, 2016
Edition: eBook (624 pages)

America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie offer a richly woven tapestry in this historical novel about Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph. Not only are historical characters brought to life, but so is the culture and conflicts of the times. The position of women in society, the education of women, the ownership of slaves, and the Jeffersonian view that 'all men are created equal' predominate. Thomas Jefferson and his daughter are brought to life as complex people grappling with complex problems of a new nation as they interact on the world stage.

I found this book extremely interesting, and want to read more about Thomas and Martha “Patsy” Jefferson and others in their circle of friends and acquaintances. Their lives were anything but ideal. They grappled with conflict just as we do today, and their day-to-day lives were no more free from stress than ours are now.

Lynn's List (July 8, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Trouble in July by Erskine Caldwell
• Lee by Clifford Dowdey
• Soaring Into Greatness: A Blind Woman's Vision To Live Her Dreams And Fly by Gail Hamilton
• One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
• The Blind Advantage: How Going Blind Made Me a Stronger Principal... by Bill Henderson
• The 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake by Lee Whittlesey and Larry Morris
• Born on the Fourth of July: 40th Anniversary Edition by Ron Kovic and Bruce Springsteen
• The Privileged by Emily Hourican
• Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye
• Escape to Pagan: The True Story of One Family's Fight to Survive in World War II Occupied Asia by Brian Devereux
• Into the Blue by Chanel Cleeton
• Trump and Me by Mark Singer
• To Catch a Cat: How Three Stray Kittens Rescued Me by Heather Green
• The Trap by Melanie Raabe and Imogen Taylor
• The Second Half: A Novel by Lauraine Snelling
• Claiming Noah by Amanda Ortlepp
• Someone Always Knows by Marcia Muller
• Kick: The True Story of JFK's Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth by Paula Byrne
• A Meal in Winter: A Novel of World War II by Sam Taylor and Hubert Mingarelli
• Little Girl Gone by Gerry Schmitt
• Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy by John Prados
• Saving Henry by Laurie Strongin
• Magic: A Novel by Danielle Steel
• The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
• Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors by Stephen E. Ambrose
• Divine Intervention by Trista Ann Michaels
• Banged Up by Jeanne St. James
• A Strange Disappearance by Anna Katharine Green
• Coming Home by David Lewis
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• No Such Person by Caroline B. Cooney
• Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.
• The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
• Colton Cowboy Hideout by Carla Cassidy
• The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
• The Woman in the Photo: A Novel by Mary Hogan
• Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin
• The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber
• Promise by Ann Weisgarber
• The Moment: A Novel by Douglas Kennedy
• Sealab: America's Forgotten Quest to Live and Work on the Ocean Floor by Ben Hellwarth
• Seashell Season by Holly Chamberlin
• Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail: A Novel by T. J. Forrester
• Bird Cloud: A Memoir of Place by Annie Proulx
• Precious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, Family, and a Way of Life by Alicia Oltuski
• The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
• Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe
• Desegregating the Altar: The Josephites and the Struggle for Black Priests, 1871–1960 by Stephen J. Ochs
• The Bright Forever: A Novel by Lee Martin
• Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes
• The Secret of Raven Point: A Novel by Jennifer Vanderbes
• American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America by David O. Stewart
• Darkness All Around by Doug Magee
• Sparrow in the Wind by S. Rose

Review: Murder In The Family by Burl Barer

Title: Murder In The Family
Author: Burl Barer
Publisher: WildBlue Press
Publication Date: June 21, 2016
Edition: Kindle (320 pages)

Murder In The Family by Burl Barer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The bodies of Nancy Newman (wife and mother), Melissa Newman (eight-years-old), and Angie Newman (three-years-old) were found brutally murdered in their home on March, 15, 1987. It was one of the most horrific crimes ever seen in Anchorage, Alaska, to date. 'Murder in the Family' is a detailed account of the investigation of the crime, apprehension of the suspect and the subsequent trial, conviction and sentencing of the perpetrator.

What makes this true crime book especially interesting is that the case marks the first time testimony was allowed by an FBI profiler and allotyping evidence was introduced in support of demonstrable proof of guilt--Both of which were very controversial at the time.

Burl Barer explains much of the early DNA science as it is used in this case as well as the procedural aspects involved, so if you're looking for a white-knuckle suspenseful read, this is likely not it. However, 'Murder in the Family' engaged me in a different way. There is much here about the psychology of the criminal mind and the police officers who worked relentlessly to solve the case up to and post conviction.

Lynn's List (July 1, 2016)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Second Wind by Dick Francis
• Every Second by Rick Mofina
• From This Day Forward by Victoria Thompson
• Wings of Morning by Victoria Thompson
• April 1865 by Jay Winik
• Law, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Terrorism by Roger Douglas
• In the Thick of the Fight: The Writing of Emily Wilding Davison, Militant Suffragette by Carolyn P. Collette
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• A Good Day to Die by Stephen Solomita
• Shade It Black by Jessica Goodell
• Marking Time (The Cazalet Chronicles Book 2) by Elizabeth Jane Howard
• Silent City by Alex Segura
• Down the Darkest Street by Alex Segura
• Doctor Goebbels by Heinrich Fraenkel and Roger Manvell
• Two Little Girls: A Memoir of Adoption by Theresa Reid
• The Lions of Lucerne (Scot Harvath, #1) by Brad Thor
• America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
• Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez
• West with the Night by Beryl Markham
• Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Tracks by Robyn Davidson
• The Hiding Place by David Bell
• Twenty Years at Hull House; with Autobiographical Notes by Jane Addams
• Seneca Chief, Army General: A Story About Ely Parker by Brian P. Cleary
• Thankful for Love by Peggy Bird
• Secrets Gone South by Alicia Hunter Pace
• On My Own Two Feet by Michelle Burford and Amy Purdy
• The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn
• Missing, Presumed: A Novel by Susie Steiner
• MLK: An American Legacy: Bearing the Cross, Protest at Selma, and The FBI and Martin Luther King. Jr. by David J. Garrow
• The Best Worst President: What the Right Gets Wrong About Barack Obama by Bob Staake and Mark Hannah
• The World War II Collection: The Miracle of Dunkirk, Day of Infamy, and Incredible Victory by Walter Lord
• The Liam Devlin Novels: The Eagle Has Landed, Touch the Devil, and Confessional by Jack Higgins
• Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins
• The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw
• Conduct Under Fire: Four American Doctors and Their Fight for Life as Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-1945 by John A. Glusman
• The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
• Paul McCartney: The Life by Philip Norman
• The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper
• The Witches by Stacy Schiff
• Nunslinger: The Complete Series by Stark Holborn
• Hitler's British Slaves: Allied POWs in Germany 1939-1945 by Sean Longden
• The Litmore Snatch by Henry Wade
• The Wednesday Club by Neil Smith and Kjell Westö
• While My Eyes Were Closed by Linda Green
• Bending Toward the Sun by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie
• The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
• The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
• Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
• The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen
• Fractured Memory by Jordyn Redwood
• Incriminating Evidence by Rachel Dylan
• The Promise He Made Her by Tara Taylor Quinn