Gifts
With Christmas and Hanukah coming, you might want to
consider one of my 12 books as a gift. Something here for everyone and the
royalties go to charity, not to me. ~Bob
Book Recommendations
The Last Highlander. By Sarah Fraser
This was a comprehensive, excellent biography of the
enigmatic Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, who was the last man beheaded for treason
in the UK .
(The beefeater at the Tower asked us this question and was surprised when I
knew.) Lovat was a Jacobite at heart, but played both sides, supporting the
Hanoverians in 1715 and Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1745 rebellion, after
which the Clan system was destroyed in the highlands. His and his clan's
interests lay with the government, as he struggled all his life to restore Clan
Fraser and his patrimony against grasping neighbors, only to lose it all in the
'45, following his heart. He was not out in the '45, being too old and infirm,
but his son and a large contingent of Frasers was. The book contains excellent
descriptions of the tragedy at Culloden and the terrible aftermath. Despite
being written by a Fraser, it is well balanced, neither exulting of condemning
Lovat. History buffs, especially of Celtic history, will find it of interest.
So will people who like to read about fascinating characters. I read it on
kindle, very cost-effective that way.
Bonnie and I listed to the fascinating, but tragic book on
CD in the car. it is a comprehensive history of the leper colony at Molokai in Hawaii . I knew of the
existence of the colony, but not that thousands of people, many misdiagnosed or
not contagious, were arrested and forced there, then declared dead. Despite
that, family member often followed them to help them survive. The death rate
was horrific, not the least because they were ill supplied with basic
necessities. The Board of Health, which with local sheriffs enforced the edict
against the "disease which is a crime" (as the Hawaiians said) was
chronically short of funds, if part because of the extravagances of the Royal
Family and the government. Much of it was needless, as modern research shows
that only five percent of the population can catch leprosy, which only a small
percentage of lepers were contagious. This is a very interesting bit of social
history, though the story is horrific.
People's Republic Kindle Edition. By Kurt
Schlichter
An enjoyable thriller set in a near dystopian future when
the United States has split
into two countries, the red states staying as the USA
and the blue states as The Peoples Republic of North America . The PRNA has carried
political correctness and progressive principles to the extreme, and as always
happens in statist systems, the people are coerced to do as told, the border is
closed and the elites live very well indeed. Think East
Germany , Cuba
and Venezuela
combined, all on steroids. An uneasy truce prevails though there was a lot of
fighting over the split. The novel revolves around an adventurer and former vet
who makes his living going into the PRNA and rescuing people who want to leave--and
can pay. People who fear for the future of our country and who like thrillers
will enjoy this. People who are working to bring about a socialist utopia will
not. Available cheap on Kindle.
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