imyourmausoleum's reviews
1684 reviews

 Trinity was the code name given to the test project for the nuclear bombs that the United States military was building. This bomb type was an implosion plutonium bomb. This was the type of bomb that would be dropped over Nagasaki. While that is interesting from a scientific and historical standpoint, the most interesting part of the book was in regard to the contamination aspect. Nuclear fallout rained down in the approximate area. Humans and animals were affected by the fallout, with beta burns, hair loss, cancers, fertility issues, and birth defects. Residents in the affected areas were (of course) not informed about the testing or fallout, and certainly not about long-term effects.

Today, you can visit the Trinity Site on the third Saturday in October. Visitation to the site is limited, as this location is still a restricted area due to military occupation. If you plan to visit, I strongly suggest checking out the information page for rules and other helpful information. Nearby is the White Sands National Park, so this would be a very nice trip if planned accordingly. Trinitie is not allowed to be removed from the site, but they do sell other souvenirs during the Open House event. (Rumor has it that there are locals that sell it though if you are interested.) This book was really interesting. I found out about it when I visited the Oak Ridge site not long ago. If you are interested in nuclear history or military history and are in the Oak Ridge area, there are a couple of really neat things to check out in relation to this topic. 

This book covers the murders of Thomas and Jackie Hawkins, a couple who were selling their yacht. A buyer came to view the yacht, murdering the couple and making off with credit cards and other items belonging to the couple. The investigation is outlined clearly in this book. For those interested, this case was featured on the show Snapped and on 20/20.

 Daniel Wozniak was born in California in 1984. He became involved in community theatre, performing as an actor. Wozniak committed a dramatic double murder in hopes that he would be able to fund his honeymoon and pay some debts. This story was wild and was featured on Dateline. The girlfriend of Wozniak was interviewed on Dateline. His father was also interviewed on Dr. Phil. This was a weird case. 

 Blanche Kiser was born in North Carolina in 1933. Her father was a Baptist minister, who Blanche would later claim was abusive, alcoholic, and much more. He father died suddenly from a heart attack, which now has an air of suspicion around it. Blanche married James N. Taylor in 1952, with whom she had two children. Blanche did not have a great relationship with her mother-in-law, who died suddenly of...a heart attack... During their marriage, she began working at Kroger. While working at Kroger, Blanche seemed to be a favorite of male customers and coworkers. Her husband would die in 1973 of...a heart attack... She eventually began a relationship with a coworker, who would later die from arsenic poisoning. While this man was dying in the hospital, she was canoodling with a preacher that she would eventually marry. The preacher also took ill much like her last two main squeezes and found himself in the hospital. Blanche and her killing spree were uncovered due to another positive arsenic test.

This woman was WILD. She got up to some SHENANAGINS. The only complaint I have about this book is that it kept repeating how beautiful this woman was, and Google disagrees with the gaslighting going on here. She was BOLD. She was manipulative and calculating. I would also really like to know the real story about her dad and her childhood, as you cannot believe a thing this woman says. The book was really interesting. I listened to it in one shift at work and was very engaged in it. Overall, a solid true crime book. 

 Steven Adler is the drummer and one of the song writers for the band Guns N Roses. He was fired from the band due to his drug addiction. If you are a fan of Guns N Roses or bands from this era, this might interest you. It is currently free to listen to on Audible Plus. 

 This book is currently available to listen to for free on Audible. It was an interesting book with plenty of behind-the-scenes stories from some well-known metal band members. If you are into metal music, especially older metal bands, this might be a fun one for you. 

 On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger aircraft collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport. The airport is located in Tenerife, Spain, but is operating under a different name now. The collision involved two flights that had been diverted to that airport following a bomb explosion in their scheduled airport. KLM Flight 4805 had begun to takeoff while PAN AM Flight 1736 remained on the runway. The KLM plane did not clear the PAN AM plane, slamming the tail and landing hear into PAN AM. There were no survivors from the KLM flight, resulting in the deaths of 248 passengers and crew. PAN AM fared slightly better, with 335 deaths and 61 survivors.

This whole fiasco was the result of several errors. Obviously, I am not an aviation expert, but having a bunch of diverted planes that are piled up seems dangerous and stressful. If you have people in air traffic control not paying close attention to where planes are...it is asking for a disaster. It is thought that there was a soccer game and other conversations going on in the tower, which may have added to the confusion and distraction. Ground radar was not in use, which would have helped tremendously in the dense fog conditions that were also occurring at the time. Runway lights were not functioning. There has also been blame placed on the crews of both flights for distraction, wanting to rush out of there, and miscommunication. The PAN AM flight did not exit the runway as instructed, though the instruction clarity can be debated. Despite the factors, a lot of people lost their lives. A lot of people lost someone they cared about. A lot of people were injured terribly and traumatized from this event.

This book was very informative. It had statements from survivors and family members of those on the flights. It was really tense to listen to because you knew there was going to be a disaster, but you didn't know when it was coming. Hearing what happened to those people was unnerving. This book is currently free to listen to on Audible Plus, and if you have that option and are interested in this type of subject matter, I recommend this book for you. 

 Glen Taylor Helzer founded a cult, called the Children of Thunder. He declared himself the prophet, and had ambitions to take over the leadership of the LDS cult, which, in his mind, would hurry along the return of their god. Helzer and his followers murdered five people, one of whom was his girlfriend, Selina Bishop. Bishop was the daughter of blues guitar player Elvin Bishop. This book outlines Helzer's history of poor behavior and mental illness, as well as the formation of the cult and the murders he orchestrated.

For anyone who still listens to The Last Podcast on the Left, this is one of the books on their reading list. I have been trying to get through that list for months to be done with it. This was a decently written book that outlined plenty of facts and details about the case. 

 Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena were raped and murdered during a gang initiation while they were walking home from a pool party late at night. The bodies were discovered four days later, and due to the weather, the rate of decomposition only allowed for dental identification of the girls. The families of the girl advocated for the right of victims families to view executions. The girls have a memorial dedicated to them in a park with the view of the railroad tracks where they were found in the background.

This case was featured on Dateline, for anyone interest in the Dateline reading list. The book outlined in greater detail the facts of the case. It was a fairly quick read. 

 Captain Marty Theer was murdered in the vestibule of his wife's office building. During the investigation, it was discovered that the wife was cheating on him while he was overseas and away for trainings. The lover of his wife, SSG John Diamond, was convicted of the murder. Investigators believed strongly that his wife had something more to do with his murder and spent the next six years investigating her to get justice for Captain Theer.

This case was featured on Dateline, for those of you interested in the Dateline reading list. It had more details than the episode did, however, I preferred the narration of the Dateline cast. The book was a decent true crime book, providing details in a respectful and unbiased way.