History – You want to read this…

Title: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

Author: Patrick Radden Keefe

Page Count: 445

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2019/Doubleday

Format: Ebook

Review: This was beautifully written and researched. Not being from Ireland, I’ve never had a full understanding of the Troubles and what happened during that time between the Catholics and the Protestants (or Republicans and Loyalists). It dives deep into the history of the IRA and their crimes and motives. It gives a human side to it, detailing the lives of the people involved and their trials, convictions, time in prison, all of that. It talks about how Gerry Adams went from the head of the IRA to the head of a political party and his time as a political prisoner.

It was a very fascinating book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in this part of Irish history.

Reader: Kymberly

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A Secret Life: The Sex, Lies, and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland by [Lachman, Charles]

Title: A Secret Life: The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland

Author: Charles Lachman

Performer: Joe Barrett

Length: 12h 24m

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: Feb 8, 2013/Skyhorse Publishing

Format: Audiobook

Review: This can really be summed up as follows:

Book- good

Grover Cleveland- bad

I knew going into my presidential reading list that Grover Cleveland was a horrible man and I refused to read (or listen to) a book that applauds his time as president and governor, so I picked a book that deals specifically with the most horrendous moments of his life. Before he ran for public office, he sexually assaulted a woman, who then became pregnant. He kidnapped the boy (multiple times), gave him to his friends to raise, publicly humiliated the woman, and tried to get her committed to an asylum. This book dives into all the horrid details and describes the history behind why Maria Halpin would not have felt comfortable coming forward with her story.

If you, like me, are trying to read a book about every president, I recommend reading this one, as it doesn’t heap praise upon a man who is undeserving of it.

Reader: Kymberly

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