Thursday, August 22, 2013

THE SIXTEENTH RAIL : THE EVIDENCE, THE SCIENTIST, AND THE LINDBERGH KIDNAPPING
by Adam J. Schrager

Arthur Koehler was a xylotomist with the US Forest Service in Madison, Wisconsin. He was considered the most eminent expert on wood identification. After the Lindbergh's baby was kidnapped, Koehler was tasked to investigate the wood in the ladder by the New Jersey State Police in 1932.
I did not finish this book as I found it to be excruciatingly boring. Unless you're into all the nuances of wood with all of its distinctive markings, you might be interested. The most egregious thing that I thought was disturbing was the amount of times the word "kidnapping" was misspelled. That's pretty pathetic considering that is what the book is about.
It's hard to believe that the author has received numerous journalism awards because I found the writing to be plodding.
Not recommended.

Monday, August 12, 2013

ANNE FRANK : THE BIOGRAPHY
by Melissa Muller

The title of this book is misleading. You have to slough through more than half of the volume before you even have an inkling of what Anne Frank was like. Most of the book deals with her father, Otto Frank, and his businesses.  There is really nothing revelatory nor new about Anne Frank that hasn't been written before. I found the writing to be dry and plodding. The Epilogue was supposed to reveal who betrayed the family but the suspects all denied doing anything wrong and, at best, it's all speculative.
Not recommended.
THE GIRL WHO LOVED CAMELLIAS : THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MARIE DUPLESSIS
by Julie Kavanagh

Marie Duplessis was a courtesan during the 1840s in Paris. The opera La Traviata and the film Camille were inspired by her. She grew up impoverished with an awful father. Her original name was Alphonsine and when she moved to France at the age of thirteen, she totally reinvented herself.
I didn't finish the book because it became very tedious. There's too many characters that come and go and you feel as if you are reading one giant gossip column from the nineteenth century. Marie has many lovers, they shower her with gifts, she lives like royalty. Soon enough, you are completely bored.
Not recommended.