Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf

I began reading the ebook edition of Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf on May 4th, which coincidentally marked the 56th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre. 

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is a work of nonfiction, written in graphic form, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, because it contains visual imagery along with written details about the Kent State Massacre. This gives readers the perfect overview regarding the events leading up to the Kent State Massacre, the event itself, and the eventual aftermath without giving overwhelming amounts of information to the reader to absorb and digest.

The artwork and writing are both well done for Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf. Kudos to Derf Backderf for all of his thorough research into the Kent State Massacre, which he details at the end of his book along with copious footnotes. 

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is riveting for history buffs wanting to learn more about the details of the Kent State Massacre and 

My favorite quote from Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is: "No shooter, official, or politician is held accountable for the Kent State shootings." I found this deplorable. Four unarmed students died and nine unarmed students were seriously injured by the National Guard during the Kent State Massacre. These deaths and injuries should have never happened based on what I read in this book. Derf Backderf's book describes the epic f*uk up on the part of the politicians, military, other government entities for their part in the Kent State Massacre.

Below is the publisher's summary for Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf:

"Derf Backderf takes us back to the age of the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon, Woodstock, and the Cold War and explores, in words and images, a scene of tragedy: the campus of Kent State University, where National Guard Troops attacked unarmed protestors and killed four students (Allison Beth Krause, age 19, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, age 20, Sandra Lee Scheuer, age 20, and William Knox Schroeder, age 19).

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, four students were killed and nine shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own children—a shocking event burned into our national memory.

The fatal shootings triggered immediate and massive outrage on campuses around the country. More than four million students participated in organized walkouts at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools, the largest student strike in the history of the United States at that time. It was a day that shocked the nation and helped turn the tide of public opinion against America’s war in Vietnam.

A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike.

Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart.

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissent—as relevant today as it was in 1970."

I am giving Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins

 

I enjoy reading nonfiction books quite a bit. So, when I read the publisher's summary for Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins, I couldn't resist checking it out. I ended up listening to the unabridged audio version of Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins, which is narrated by Kevin Kenerly.

Although, Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins is very detailed in relaying the "delectable true-crime story of scandal and murder at America’s most celebrated university", I found it to be a bit dry in parts. So, dry in fact, that I found myself tuning out in parts and only half listening to the narrator at times. Also, Kevin Kenerly is a good narrator, but he could have slowed his pace down a tad for a smoother listen, which would allow the listener to absorbed more of the information easily.

Below is the publisher's summary for Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins discovered on Chirp's website:

A delectable true-crime story of scandal and murder at America’s most celebrated university.

On November 23, 1849, in the heart of Boston, one of the city’s richest men vanished. Dr. George Parkman, a Brahmin who owned much of Boston’s West End, was last seen that afternoon visiting his alma mater, Harvard Medical School. Police scoured city tenements and the harbor―some leads put Parkman at sea or in Manhattan―but a Harvard janitor held a much darker suspicion: that their ruthless benefactor had never even left the Medical School building. His shocking discovery engulfed America in one of its most infamous trials, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. John White Webster, Harvard’s professor of chemistry. A baffling case of red herrings, grave robbing, and dismemberment, it became a landmark in the use of medical forensics. Rich in characters and atmosphere, Blood & Ivy explores the fatal entanglement of new science and old money in one of America’s greatest murder mysteries.

I am giving Blood & Ivy by Paul Collins a rating 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda R. Hirshman

Yes, to FINALLY listening to the unabridged audio version of Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda R. Hirshman and nicely narrated by Andrea Gallo. I've wanted to read this nonfiction book for quite sometime now as I'm fascinated by the lives of the first two women judges on the Supreme Court.

I am so happy that I listened to Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda R. Hirshman. This book is packed to the gills with information about not only the early lives of both Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, their education and early legal careers, and eventual rise to becoming the first, two female judges on the Supreme Court, but it also discusses each woman's decisions pertaining to critical legal cases that helped shape our world as we know it today. In addition to this, we also learn more about the inner workings of the Supreme Court and about the other members of the Supreme Court during each woman's tenure as a Supreme Court Justice. I found all of the information to be fascinating despite becoming a bit overwhelmed at certain times regarding the amount of information provided by Linda R. Hirschman in some sections of her book.

Below is the publisher's summary for Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda R. Hirshman, which I found on Chirp's website:

The author of the celebrated Victory tells the fascinating story of the intertwined lives of Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first and second women to serve as Supreme Court justices.

The relationship between Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg—Republican and Democrat, Christian and Jew, western rancher’s daughter and Brooklyn girl—transcends party, religion, region, and culture. Strengthened by each other’s presence, these groundbreaking judges, the first and second to serve on the highest court in the land, have transformed the Constitution and America itself, making it a more equal place for all women.

Linda Hirshman’s dual biography includes revealing stories of how these trailblazers fought for their own recognition in a male-dominated profession—battles that would ultimately benefit every American woman. She also makes clear how these two justices have shaped the legal framework of modern feminism, including employment discrimination, abortion, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and many other issues crucial to women’s lives.

Sisters-in-Law combines legal detail with warm personal anecdotes that bring these very different women into focus as never before. Meticulously researched and compellingly told, it is an authoritative account of our changing law and culture, and a moving story of a remarkable friendship.

I am giving Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda R. Hirshman a rating of 4 stars our of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Mayflower Lives by Martyn Whittock

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Mayflower Lives by Martyn Whittock and narrated by James Cameron Stewart.

Listening time for Mayflower Lives by Martyn Whittock is 11 hours, 59 minutes.

If you are at all interested in early American history, especially the lives of the Mayflower Pilgrims, then this is the book for you! Mayflower Lives by Martyn Whittock is packed to the gills with a plethora of information and is very well organized and written. 

Although, Mayflower Lives is packed with an abundance of pertinent information, I found myself (at times) tuning out while listening to this audiobook. I didn't care for the narrator for Mayflower Lives, which most likely is the reason why I tuned out occasionally. So, I'd recommend reading a physical copy of this book instead.

Below is the publisher's summary for Mayflower Lives by Martyn Whittock found on Chirp's website:

Leading into the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower, Martyn Whittock examines the lives of the “saints” (members of the Separatist puritan congregations) and “strangers” (economic migrants) on the original ship. Collectively, these people would become known to history as “the Pilgrims.” The story of the Pilgrims has taken on a life of its own as one of our founding national myths-their escape from religious persecution, the dangerous transatlantic journey, that brutal first winter. Throughout the narrative, we meet characters already familiar to us through Thanksgiving folklore-Captain Jones, Myles Standish, and Tisquantum (Squanto)-as well as new ones. There is Mary Chilton, the first woman to set foot on shore, and asylum seeker William Bradford. We meet fur trapper John Howland and little Mary More, who was brought as an indentured servant. Then there is Stephen Hopkins, who had already survived one shipwreck and was the only Mayflower passenger with any prior American experience. Decidedly un-puritanical, he kept a tavern and was frequently chastised for allowing drinking on Sundays. Epic and intimate, Mayflower Lives is a rich and rewarding book that promises to enthrall anyone with an interest in early American history.

I am giving Mayflower Lives by Martyn Whittock a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!