The Lost City by Douglas Preston (2017

This is a book about finding the Lost City ofthe Monkey God in the jungles of Honduras, written by a fiction writer on assignment for New Yorker.  He actually accompanied the crew, which include an archeologist, film crew, photographer, fixer, pilot, and others, to the site for the discovery.

It covers many subjects-- archeology, history, politics-- to name a few.  And it's written well.  Read up!

The Orphan's Tale, Pam Jenoff, 2017

This is historical fiction.  It is the story of the people who escape the ravages of World War II by joining a circus.  It's exercise and adventure, entertaining and educational.  It's a 6 vegetable salad with tasty dressing.  Read up.

The Girl with Seven Names, by Hyeonseo Lee (2015)

Interesting memoir written by a young woman who defected from North Korea as a teenager.  It takes some years, but she gets through China and eventually makes her way to South Korea.  Then she goes and gets her family out too.

Is it true?  Taoster doubts it.  I think parts may be fabricated, but big picture it's accurate. It's a good adventure story and you learn a lot going through it.  And it's inspiring.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly (2016

This is the latest in the Bosch series.  The story takes us to Pasadena, South Pas, San Fernando and San Diego.  It is set in the present, 1950, and points in between.  Read it to get a sense of the place and time and also to exercise the brain by following the mystery along.

For the Love of Money by Sam Polk (2016

Memoir that is a redemption story.  He grew in Glendale and La Canada. He fought a lot as a kid. Then got into drugs.  He ended his journey addicted to money as a Wall Street trader. 

He was a high school wrestler who liked to read and writes well.

It's a variation on the same old theme.  It's very readable, nice, uplifting message.  Read this one.

notes on Dark Money: The Hidden HIstory of the Billionaires Behindthe Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer (2016

The story is as it's titled.  Billionaires take over the Republican Party, then take over the government.

Plutocracy: government by the wealthy, for the wealthy.

But there's an interesting spin on it.  The voters assent to it.

It was hard to get through at times.  It's a little too factual. At times, it's a pretty dry description of the mechanics of how the rich get the public to agree with their point of view.   The problem is beyond the facts.  You can't just expose what's going on and then it stops.

It's an important subject but this book was not the best way to get at the root of the problem.

Notes on Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (2016

Memoir written by 31 descendant of Kentucky Hillbillies.  It's a pull yourself up by your bootstraps kind of life story, a tough upbringing but ends up at an ivy league law school. It's also a meditation on what it means to be a hillbilly and from hillbillies in America. He's a good writer with a good sense of humor.  Is this the introduction the right wing answer to Obama? Time will tell.