Books Set in Europe and South America

The Rhythm of Memory, by Alyson Richman (2004)

The Rhythm of Memory is about how the human is capable of overcoming tragedy even though it takes years to conquer the past. The novel follows two couples ~ Octavio and Salomé, and Samuel and Kaija, each with their own secrets of their respective pasts.

Octavio was an impoverished young student when he first met Salomé, a young girl from a wealth family.  They met in Santiago, Chile in the 1960s.  He sent her love poems by the famous Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda.  They married and soon Octavio became a successful and well-known movie star.  Because he became famous, one day in 1973, Neruda approached Octavio and asked for his help in coaching Salvador Allende with his political campaign.  Octavio became involved in politics and felt he had come to real meaning in his life.

After Augusto Pinochet staged a coup and Allende was killed, Octavio continued to speak out against Pinochet, never realizing that it would be his wife who would ultimately pay for his political decision.  Salomé was abducted and tortured for several months before being released.  Octavio, to protect his family, sought political asylum and his family relocated to Sweden.

Meanwhile, Samuel, whose Jewish family fled Europe and bounced around in South America before settling in Sweden, experienced his own feelings of tragedy. He met the beautiful Kaija and fell in love with her.  Kaija was a Finnish war “orphan”.  Her family was extremely poor, and during the Finnish-Russian War, sent her to Sweden to be with a temporary family in order to give her a better life.

Some of the family members intersect in Sweden, but secrets are still kept, which threaten to tear families apart.

I enjoyed this novel, although I found the author sometimes repeated herself in several places once the action moved to Sweden.  Still, the characters were vivid and really came off the page.

Read: July 6, 2019

5 Stars

Books Set in the United States: Washington, D.C.

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, by James Comey (2018)

I don’t generally read books by celebrities or political figures.  I was browsing in the library and A Higher Loyalty, by James Comey was on display.  I decided to give the book a try.

The book is very well written.  Also, Comey has a huge ego, which he acknowledges, and seems to rarely make mistakes.  He did bully a fellow classmate while in college, which he now acknowledges, but still regrets that event.  He also acknowledges that his has a reputation for being sanctimonious, so tries to humanize himself by recounting traumatic events in his life.  His interest in law enforcement began when he was in high school and was a victim of an armed burglary in his home.

A Higher Loyalty outlines Comey’s career in law enforcement from his days as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  While there, he worked under Rudy Giuliani, whose leadership style he disagrees.  He was a prosecutor for the Mafia, and learned about how the mob mind worked.  He would later compare President Trump’s leadership to how the mob bosses operated.

After working in the public sector, we went to work in the private sector.  It seems his motive is money, as he bemoans that the salary for a government worker was insufficient to cover costs of his growing family.  This seems somewhat insulting, considering he was in high enough positions to make more money than many Americans.

After Obama became president, Comey returned to government as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  He was confirmed in that position in 2013, and knowing that the term for FBI Director is for 10 years, expected to last through 2023.

Comey describes the characteristics that make a person a great leader.  He describes steps he took to create a pleasant work environment for his employees despite the often stressful tasks of the job.

The last few chapters of the book describe the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email debacle, and the subsequent election of President Trump. He describes his encounters with the new president and the awkwardness he felt in his meetings with the president.

Comey gave a lot of insight into the function of the office of the United States Attorney and the FBI.  It was a fun and quick read.

Read: June 3, 2018

4 Stars

Books Set in the United States

Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission, by Bret Baier (2017)

This book made the New York Times Best-Seller list in January 2017.  I read this only because it was the April book for the St. James reading group.

Although the book is entitled Three Days in January, these "three days" are actually not discussed until the final third of the book.  The first sections of the book provide background leading up to the final three days of Eisenhower's presidency as he prepare to leave the White House in the hands of John F. Kennedy.

The first portion of the book describes Eisenhower's early life and military life.  The second portion delves into his presidency, before finally reaching the final 3 days.

I grew up after this transition, and do not know a lot about the history of the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations.  This book, however, gives a rather slanted opinion of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.  The author doesn't much care for Democrats.

Also, was this book fact checked?  As I noted, I do not know a lot about this time in history, but several small "facts" were clearly false.  The author stated that Oveta Culp Hobby was the first woman cabinet member.  While she was the first Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (a position created during the Eisenhower administration), Frances Perkins was the first woman cabinet member when she was appointed the Secretary of Labor during the Roosevelt administration.  Also, the author made reference to Eisenhower's displeasure at advertisements in the Smithsonian magazine.  The magazine was first published in 1970, a year after Eisenhower's death.  These are just a few of the incorrect "facts", that I noted.  What else did the author try to put forward that are not quite correct.

To learn about this era in history, I will definitely rely on other, more scholarly books.

Read:  April 9, 2017

2 Stars