Laurie

Long and Detailed

Revisado: 03-22-25

I got a lot more than I bargained for. This goes all the way back to 1980. Anyone who loves reading about foreign policy or the Middle East will find this book a treasure trove of facts, stories and intimate details. It’s very good, but not for the average curious reader.

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Important in 2025

Revisado: 03-10-25

Wish I had read this years ago. I would have saved myself a lot of trouble.

This book is not only about Trump but also about his unique appeal to his followers and exactly why they are impervious to reason. It’s one thing to call them a cult and another to break down the specific aspects of the cult that make it peculiar. This book does that.

It also fulfills its primary purpose masterfully, breaking down Trump’s singular characteristics as a human being in a methodical and painstaking fashion. He’s done a lot of research and given his subjects a lot of thought.

You won’t look at Trump or MAGA in the same way after reading this.

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Not Enough Info

Revisado: 03-03-25

I listened to this in the hopes that there would be more detail than the recent Netflix documentary. The audio version was issued in 2022 so it would have made sense for the author to update the book with the discovery of Tonya/Suzanne’s real name and family. And through the book I might get more of the skinny on the family situation and attitudes. There is no new information in here.

Also, there’s a lot of jumping around that made the story in the book a bit hard to follow. Even though I saw the Netflix documentary I’m still a little turned
around.

Finally, I just don’t care for the reader’s Minnesota twang and sing song.

Sorry it’s all negative. The crime story itself is well worth the listen.

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Very Objective

Revisado: 01-08-25

Almost dry. The style is classic journalism and the author strives to step back from his subject, tell the facts and provide the opinions of witnesses and participants. It’s a neat summary of what has happened as a result of Trump and a snapshot of where that leaves us. Liberal talking points are not included. The book sticks strictly to the legal issues.

I learned a few things - especially about the Mueller Investigation and the classified documents case.

I want to listen again and will.

This is one of the best books I’ve read on the threat of Trump.

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Education on Recent Chinese History

Revisado: 12-08-24

The personal is political and this terrific book is an excellent example of that.

I read this many years ago, but forgot everything so decided to listen to the audio version. I listened straight through. A couple of times I broke down in tears, but listened on.

There is so much here that is applicable to current times in the US. It ought to be read as a warning. “ He ruled by getting people to hate each other.” Does this sound like anyone we know? There are multiple similarities between Mao and a certain political leader.

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Melodrama

Revisado: 12-03-24

It’s hard to listen to this as anything other than satire. Great narrator too. I thoroughly enjoyed!

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Very Validating

Revisado: 11-10-24

I found myself nodding and laughing along at the descriptions of attempting to break through using evidence and various techniques. We’ve all had these experiences.

I learned a lot about this phenomenon and it helped me exchange some of my anger and frustration with empathy.

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What A Bloodthirsty Book!

Revisado: 11-09-24

The everlasting depredations on animal life were completely nauseating. The answer to any new wildlife was aim/fire! This was called “sport” although 3/4s of the time the animal had no chance at all. I realize this was what everyone did, but the book was so completely focused on their nonstop murders that it was hard to enjoy any of the other parts.

The father figure is a nag and stuffed shirt, but it hasn’t done any good because his boys are uncontrolled savages. When they’re not killing animals they’re mocking each other in never ending sibling rivalry.

The variety of animals on the island and the miraculous and endless store of useful things on the ship both seem unrealistic.

It’s not like me to pan a book written in the 19th century, but this is difficult to process, let alone enjoy. I would love to enter into their religious and family feelings but there is just too much that is cruel, too much that is peculiar and too much that never changes about these characters.

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Not Terribly Interesting

Revisado: 09-06-24

I’m surprised that I finished this long biography. I guess I expected more and continued to anticipate it throughout.

The author spends an inordinate amount of time recapping the plots and details of Grant’s movies. Every time he launches into another description he seems to want to justify it by explaining that this was a seminal role or turning point in his acting career. He could have cut a lot of these descriptions out and the book would have been much shorter and less tedious.

I expected more of Cary Grant as a person and that’s where this biography is unsatisfying. I’m left with a picture of a workmanlike and skilled actor who wasn’t particularly deep or very interested in anything much outside of making pictures. He liked exceptionally young and beautiful women but didn’t have the maturity to stick with any of them for very long.

Who was Cary Grant or Archibald Leach? I still don’t know and this book didn’t have much to tell me. Maybe that’s all there is.

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Very Different!

Revisado: 08-31-24

Very different from any of the other Regency romances by this gifted author. I was immediately intrigued when the note of trouble was introduced early and the usual humor and romp never manifested.

It fell somewhat short of being Gothic and it didn’t get into any heavy psychoanalysis. The character of Torquil was odd. Rather than being “mad” in the sense of someone with schizophrenia, his behavior fell more into the category of intermittent explosive disorder. The novel fell short of the expectations I had at first, but it kept my attention till the end and was a pleasant change from the usual Heyer romance.

The narration kept giving me challenges because the male voices were done very loud and female voices were often too soft. I kept having to hit the volume control.

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