imyourmausoleum's reviews
1694 reviews

Northern Dancer was a bay Thoroughbred racehorse. The horse was foaled on May 27, 1961, by Nearctic, out of Natalma. Native Dancer was owned by Windfields Farm. This horse would go on to become the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He won the Preakness Stakes, but came in third in the Belmont Stakes, the Triple Crown eluding him. He won the Bluegrass Stakes, Flamingo Stakes, and the Florida Derby, among other notable races. He was retired to stud in 1965, producing some exceptional offspring: Nijinsky, Storm Bird, and White Star Line to name a few.

I love horses and horse racing. I enjoyed learning about the life and career of one of the most well-known sires. I really liked this book.

 The Great Chinese Famine occurred between 1959 and 1961. The Great Leap Forward policies of collectivization and people's communes were direct contributing factors to this, making this a manmade disaster. On top of all the poor political and economic decisions, natural disasters also contributed to this famine. The Yellow River produced catastrophic flooding in 1958, affecting crop yields. There were also periods of drought. A complete death toll is unknown, but estimates range from 15-55 million deaths due to starvation and illnesses related to malnutrition and starvation.


This book was required reading for my Modern China class. I read most of it during the class but finally got around to reading the last few chapters. Famine is something that people do not often think about in the year 2025, though it is quite possible that it can happen at any point anywhere. It is something to seriously consider. Climate change and exceedingly poor choices by government officials can create conditions that cause widespread devastation. I thought this book was very informative and thought provoking. I hated the class, but this was a good book recommendation from it. 

The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. The plaques depict the history of the kingdom. Most of the plaques and other objects were taken by British forces during the Benin Expedition of 1897. Following the expedition, artifacts were transported to many museums in Europe, with a large display being held at the British Museum. Since gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria has sought the return of the bronzes on several occasions, with some being audaciously SOLD back to them. I hope to see more agreements worked out in the future that do not include people having to buy back their stolen art.

This book is currently available to listen to on Audible plus. It can be completed in one working day, as that is how long it took me to complete it. The physical copy is around 400 pages for those of you who would prefer a book to hold in your hand. I thought this book was really interesting. It is pretty common knowledge that Britian was very imperialistic and took things that did not belong to them. It is nice to see some objects being repatriated to their respective countries or other loan agreements being reached. It is sad to think about the loss of people's culture and history over the centuries, despite some people being able to view them in a museum setting. I enjoyed learning more about these bronzes and the people that created them.

I have a whole set of books from this author that I got during an Audible sale. I am really looking forward to reading the rest. This particular book covers a host of royal marriages and all of the drama and scandal that occurred within the bonds of matrimony. Some of these stories I was already aware of, but this was still an entertaining book that was decently researched.

Raynella Bernardene Large was born in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 1948. Her father was a nuclear scientist, so the family moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where Raynella was raised. She attended school in Oak Ridge, and graduated college with her RN in Nursing. She married the Knox County District Attorney, Ed Dossett, in 1970. Dossett was found dead inside a corral at their home in 1992, and his death was ruled an agricultural accident despite his terminal cancer diagnosis and suspicions of Raynella and his insurance clause. Raynella remarried six months later. Her second husband was a retired barber, David Leath. Leath was discovered dead in the bedroom by Raynella in 2003. Suicide was suspected, but foul play on the part of Raynella was also suspected. This book goes into the investigations into the deaths of both of Raynella's husbands.

This book was particularly interesting to me, because this is the area I am from. I am in Chattanooga, which is about an hour and a half from Knoxville. I have visited Oak Ridge several times, and if you have the change to visit the nuclear history museums there, I suggest you do so. I have been to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg many times and am going up for the day this weekend to see the new Bodies Museum. I am always interested in court cases from places that are known to me. This book was sufficiently detailed and informative about the case. I did look up to see if there had been any new developments since this book was published and there have been. If you plan to read this book, definitely do some post reading research about Raynella.

 Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was a nun that belonged to the Sisters of Mercy, a Catholic religious order for women. Pahl was found murdered in the sacristy of the chapel in the hospital where she worked. She had been stabbed 31 times, nine of those times created the shape of an inverted cross. She was also believed to have been sexually assaulted. At the time of her death, she was 71 years old. The priest in charge of the chapel and ministry to those in the hospital said her funeral mass. He was questioned in the murder, and later arrested for the murder. This book details the murder of Pahl and the investigation of Father Gerald Robinson.

Overall, this was a really interesting book. It was well written, and the research was on par. I am a pretty good fan of John Glatt books, so I expected to like this one. I was not disappointed in it. I am disappointed in religious people. Organized religion is not my thing by any stretch of the imagination, and it's always people like this that you are supposed to respect and listen to. No, thank you. They get up to too much nonsense and then try to defend the people who are out here abusing children and killing nuns. Hard pass for me. 

 Percy Harrison Fawcett was a British explorer who attempted to find The Lost City of Z, as he called it. This location was supposedly a complex society of indigenous peoples that built a massive city, complete with homes, shops, and religious buildings. He was certain this place was located in the Amazon in Brazil. This book detailed his explorations, including some hardships that would have sent me packing back to my house. He was supported by the British government until the outbreak of World War I, when they pulled funding to support the war effort. After that, he raised his own money and privately funded his exploits. While he never found what he was looking for, modern day archaeology suggests that he was correct in his assumption that complex societies existed in the Amazon.

Interestingly, this expedition is the motivation for the Indiana Jones book about the Seven Veils. I would like to read a biography about Fawcett, but it was interesting to read his own thoughts and words in this book.

 David Koresh was born Vernon Wayne Howell in 1959. He became the cult leader of the Branch Davidians. This cult was an apocalyptic cult, teaching about Revelations and end times. He and his followers obtained property in Mount Caramel, just outside of Waco, Texas. He had multiple children with his followers and engaged in inappropriate conduct with females of various ages. He faced multiple allegations of abuse. This book went into a deep dive about the upbringing of Koresh and how he became involved with this cult before assuming the leadership role. It provided a lot of details about his time leading this cult and about the events surrounding the siege and assault by federal forces. Overall, this was a good book and very detailed. 

This book discusses the 1854 Broad Street Cholera Outbreak that occurred in Soho, London, England. This particular area was not known for sanitation and cleanliness, with slaughterhouses, meat shops, animals, and human waste being tossed into gutters. Cellars often had open cesspools under their floorboards, adding to the risk of contamination and stench. Sewage and other waste was dumped into the Thames River, further contaminating the water supply. Several similar outbreaks had occurred before this, killing almost 15,000 people. This particular outbreak killed over 600. John Snow, an English doctor and proponent of germ theory and medical hygiene was able to trace the outbreak and prove what was causing it. This was a huge scientific breakthrough at the time.

This book was required reading for my Physical Science class. I had read most of the book, but just got around to finishing it up. It was really interesting to see how they were able to figure out where the outbreak originated and what caused it. Knowing this changed the way people disposed of things and their cleanliness in general. There is a pub named after John Snow close to where the outbreak originated. They also installed a commemorative brick and replica water pump near the site of the original outbreak well. If you happen to be in the area, that would be a neat thing to check out.

 

On May 2, 1996, the body of Kent Leppink washed ashore in Alaska. The investigation led back to a romantic interest of his, a stripper at an establishment he frequented, named Mechele Linehan. Leppink had proposed to Linehan at one point, along with another man. Police were suspicious of the other man and Linehan, based on interviews and witness statements. This book covers the investigation and trial of Linehan, but I won't give too much away if you are unfamiliar with this case. This case was featured on both Dateline and 48 Hours.

I thought the book offered plenty of details about the investigation and trial, as well as information about the victim. I have a stack of Fred Rosen books to get through, and am decently pleased with how this one was written and researched.