Category Archives: Nonfiction

Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, By Lisa Wingate and Judy Christie

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This what I like to call a good “coffee table” book. It’s one of those books to have sitting on your coffee table that you can pick up and use as a conversation starter. 

This is the nonfiction follow up to the novel Before We Were Yours. The book starts with Lisa Wingate seeking to reunite the surviving adoptees with other surviving victims of Georgia Tann’s Tennessee Children’s Home Society who have suffered silently. After travelling to Memphis, Lisa and journalist Judy Christie gather with the adoptees and their families who tell their adoption story. This book is the recollection, memories, and artifacts of children who were adopted through Tennessee Children’s Home Society that was run by the nefarious Georgia Tann. The stories told are the stories of hope when life has been stolen. While some of the adoption stories deeply benefited the child, the cards dealt to other children were not always in their favor. Sometimes sweet and sometimes appalling, each separate account gives the adoptees a voice that will not be forgotten.

“To this day I search Ancestry.com and use my DNA to discover if there is some familial connection somewhere. If I could just learn the truth of my mother’s story, I might find some peace.” -Email from an adoptee’s child

The chapters are organized by adoptee, and each chapter tells the story of a child who was adopted through the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. It revolves around their adoption, what happened to them in their adopted home, and the reunion with their birth family much later in life (if one occurred). The book is full of supportive photocopies and photographs.

This does not entail memories of Georgia Tann or the heinous acts that occurred at her orphanage. There is only one adoptee in this book who can account for remembering Georgia Tann, but it does not focus on Tann or the orphanage environment; rather it centers around the adoption, her new family, and the reunion with the biological family.

I recommend this to readers interested in true crime and adoption, and for readers that enjoyed “Before We Were Yours”. If you have not read “Before We Were Yours”, I recommend knowing a bit about Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society beforehand.
Many thanks to Random House- Ballantine, Lisa Wingate, Judy Christie, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

For more information on the subject:
About Georgia Tann
Baby Snatcher

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Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate, by Mike Giglio

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This seamless account vividly portrays the apocalyptic environment experienced in Iraq and Syria under the regime of ISIS. With this firsthand report, the reader is taken on an unforgettable journey witnessing the conflict in Raqqa, the Battle for Mosul, and the Syrian refugee crisis. From the underground traders to the extortion to the genocide to the battles, this is an important history for Westerners to comprehend.

I specifically wanted to note the presentation of people that the author encounters in this book. This includes but is not limited to smugglers, ISIS leaders and members, Iraq Counter-Terrorism Force soldiers, ISOF, Kurdish soldiers, looters, Assad supporters, bomb makers, passport counterfeit artists, etc.… Because of his relationships with each person, as a reader you get to know each one. They became “real” rather than obscure names who are easy to forget. It was distressing when one would die because you would become attached to them, you felt like you knew them.

Throughout the entire book, I felt like a fly on the wall watching everything play out. Overall, it was an electrifying and stimulating account. Written as a narrative, he made it easy for the average laymen to comprehend. The chapters are ordered sequentially by month and year which made his narrative easy to follow. Again, this is great nonfiction read for the average reader.

Highly recommend. I learned a lot and will be looking for more from this author. Nonfiction solid 5 stars. Now it only leaves us with the question, will this happen again?
Many thanks to Public Affairs, Mike Giglio, and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS, by Azadeh Moaveni

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“…ISIS was like a third partner in her marriage…” 

This work is as described: the stories of thirteen women from various countries and backgrounds who become women of ISIS. Their heart-wrenching accounts attest the weight on Muslim feminism and gender conflicts. Each with their own story, this book explains the series of events that attracted them to ISIS. The powerful voices of these women not only expose their decisions that led them to ISIS but also reveal the undeniable reality that their choice to join was not always just black and white, A or B. The chronicles of these women do unveil the political and religious propaganda embroiled, but it also exploits the increasing involvement and pressure of social media that affected many who joined. 

Chapters alternate between these women, and each story is told in a linear format. At times the author interjects in the middle of a story to afford historical context for their situations, and I found this helpful but at times disrupting to the women’s story that was being presented. 
There are additional 1-2 page segments that are implanted outside of these chapters (located between the chapters of the women’s stories, since it is not directly linked to the women) to provide context to the timeline in regards to important events that are transpiring outside of these women’s lives; for example, in 2015 when a Jordan pilot is captured and ISIS releases the video of him burning alive. 

It seemed to follow an expository format at times, so I felt misguided at various intervals considering this as nonfiction material. Throughout the better last half of this book, the facts and information are often used to promote an opinion or idea. It still would have been instructive and emotionally captivating without these speculative assessments. Also, the last part of the book (Part V), felt rushed and left me without closure on the collapse of the caliphate, making the conclusion of the women’s stories left unsettled. Since it follows the story of thirteen individuals, it was at times hard to keep the characters straight when picking up the book after putting it down. At 50% of the book, there was still a new woman being introduced. Sometimes it felt like pieces of the puzzle were missing, especially to various regions and the politics evolving.

Significant events involved, but not limited to: Arab Spring (2011 Arab Uprising), The Syrian Three, 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the al-Qaeda narrative, Raqqa under Assad, Sarah Khan’s campaign, 2012 Ghouta gas attack, the Nusra Front, 1982 Hama rebellion, 2011 Syrian Civil War

Many thanks to Random House, NetGalley, and Azadeh Moaveni for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

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When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Hyper Inflation, by Adam Fergusson

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This book effortlessly sets the stage for the Germany’s 1923 hyperinflation that would be exploited by the National Socialist Workers’ Party. With this grand scale of inflation and devaluation, Germany experiences social unrest, political turmoil, and bureaucratic upheaval. This book takes you step by step through the sequence of events, while walking you side by side with those who experienced it firsthand. The price of necessities such as bread, flour, milk, and other needs continued to climb so high until it bred famine. Eventually worthless, locals found the money was more useful as wallpaper or as paper to start a fire with. The facts explored in this book are endless and critical to understanding the consequences of deficit spending.

Notably, as one of the calamities that would benefit Hitler’s rise to power, readers are also exposed to the moral decay that grew alongside inflation. Family members would see relatives asserting that “creative capital is the capital we Germans have: parasitical capital is the capital of the Jew.” The author goes into details that links the Holocaust with Germany’s fiscal direction.

It is a hard read to get through because of the dull and barren tone. But the information is highly impressive. Have a highlighter ready!

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Hitler’s Last Hostages, By Mary M. Lane

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“Gurlitt took advantage of the desperate straits of the Wolffson family, offering only 150 reichsmarks for Gothic Church and 300 reichsmarks for Roofs, roughly $60 and $120 at the time. Immediately after buying them, however, Gurlitt flipped Roofs for 1,400 reichsmarks–a 367 percent profit. He decided to keep Gothic Church for himself.”

I found the organization and sequencing of this book would be difficult to use for research purposes. The information was well-researched, but the organization was sometimes difficult to follow. The heist that Cornelius Gurlitt’s father, Hildebrand Gurlitt, coordinated and kept secret for so long was astounding. The German government’s response to crime is even more astounding.

The prologue reads like a scandal from a magazine. The author gets a call in 2013 from her editor about a stash of Nazi-looted paintings found in the home of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Hildebrand Gurlitt, and wants her to cover the story. While investigating, she discovers the German government is focused on the art for taxation purposes rather than ethical or moral reasons. However, this modern-day story is not picked up in the book again until the end around 75%. 

Thereafter, information delves into the history of artistic movements in Germany shortly before WWII. The artists are comprehensively detailed, specifically George Grosz. His history, education, family, and artistic background are detailed thoroughly for 10% of the book. I was unsure and asking myself why so much on this one man? But he is cycled back to at the end of this book and is used to mirror what was felt by many of the local artists holistically and to navigate what happened to them. 

Hitler comes into play at around 25% of this book, as a young man. His primary school, social, religious upbringing, and family history are accounted for. His obsession with art throughout his life projects into his political display as a leader. Claiming that art and Nazism are inseparable facets to the success of his regime, he restricts and censors all “degenerate culture” (non-Aryan art, or anything that does not support Nazism). He advocates for the success his Fuhrermuseum Project (his dream art museum) even when losing the war. In this source, everything surrounding Hitler’s campaign stem back to his love and passion for art.
Now, Hildebrand Gurlitt comes back into the picture. While using the Holocaust victims and others in monetary turmoil to profit for himself, Gurlitt was responsible for selecting/buying pieces for Hitler. Yet Gurlitt couldn’t help but secretly pocket his own pieces along the way.

The end of the book sequences back to Grosz and the artists who were “degenerate”, detailing what happened to them. After this recount, it goes back to the 2013-2018 case against Gurlitt. This was my favorite part.

Artists included in this book, but not limited to: Emil Nolde, Otto Dix, Ernst Kirchner, Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann, Kathe Kollwitz, Gustave Courbet, Adolph Menzel, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Eugene Delacroix, George Grosz, Henri Matisse, Max Liebermann, Edgar Degas

Many thanks to Perseus Books, Public Affairs, Mary M. Lane, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

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Doctors from Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans, by Vivien Spitz

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The information is provided through the author’s first hand account as a court reporter of the Nazi doctor’s crimes at the Nuremburg trials.
She presents the chapters through the different Nazi experiments on humans. For example, there is a chapter on freezing experiments, another chapter on sterilization, another chapter on mustard gas experiments, etc… Because the chapters are divided in this manner, it makes it easy to use for research purposes while for the common reader it allows you to easily obtain the information.

The facts are explained through the Nuremburg testimonies as reported by the court. It is not the entire report, but only the pertinent information for the purpose of the book. The reports account for dialogue between both the prisoners, Nazi’s, judge, witnesses, and prosecutors. The author explains the court reports before and after exposing them to provide background information. She uses language that is understandable for the common layman to comprehend. Photos are included throughout this book.

Keep in mind that this is a memoir, which is considered literary nonfiction. So, there are moments when she does recount her thoughts and feelings during this time. Ocasionally, she will discuss her life in Germany while working as a young reporter; this adds to the setting during this time since her and other reporters had no warm running water etc…as a result of the war.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the facts during the Holocaust, specifically the atrocities committed by Nazi doctors to innocent civilians in Germany.

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