Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

Title: Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
Author: Anderson Cooper, Katherine Howe
Published: September 19, 2023 by Harper
Format: 336 pages, Hardcover
Genre: Biography

First Sentence: Introduction. My first thought when I met Brooke Astor was, Who is this very small lady in a big fur coat?

Blurb: The story of the Astors is a quintessentially American story—of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention.

From 1783, when German immigrant John Jacob Astor first arrived in the United States, until 2009, when Brooke Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother, the Astor name occupied a unique place in American society.

The family fortune, first made by a beaver trapping business that grew into an empire, was then amplified by holdings in Manhattan real estate. Over the ensuing generations, Astors ruled Gilded Age New York society and inserted themselves into political and cultural life, but also suffered the most famous loss on the Titanic, one of many shocking and unexpected twists in the family’s story.

In this unconventional, page-turning historical biography, featuring black-and-white and color photographs, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe chronicle the lives of the Astors and explore what the Astor name has come to mean in America—offering a window onto the making of America itself. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Fighting over who will be called Mrs. Astor, seemed ridiculous, but I guess that is what people, who have nothing else to offer, find important.

I can’t say that the book was bad, but I can say that the Astor’s were tedious. Rags to riches, to rags. Isn’t this the same story told on repeat with generational wealth? Be it three generations or six, they all seem to end up back in the same place with only pettiness in the middle.

The authors, Cooper and Howe, did seem to struggle with enough interesting facts and there did seem to be a bit of repetition, but then again, the Astor’s were not unique or interesting.

Since this writing team has found its niche, I wonder which Gilded Age family will be next.

Elon Musk

Title: Elon Musk
Author: Walter Isaacson
Published: September 12, 2023 by Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover, 688 pages
Genre: Biography

First Sentence: Prologue: As a kid growing up in South Africa, Elon Musk knew pain and learned how to survive it.

Blurb: When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.

His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive.

At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,” he said.

It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground.

For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?

My Opinion: A crazy manchild, who can, and most certainly will, change the future. That is paraphrasing the ending of the book, and I couldn’t agree more.

Stepping back to the beginning, you feel for the child that was Elon. His home life was awful, and this school life was torment, so it is not surprising that he was determined to show the world, and his father, that he was underestimated. Watching the maniacal narcissist in his taking over of companies that he didn’t quite start but sued his way to the top, to his deleting anything and anyone in his way, was a slippery slide into the take-no-prisoners person he has become. Yet, people, mostly the women in his life, and some family members, stick by him no matter the abuse he puts them through.

Somehow, he makes his impetuous decisions work. He will rebuild the decimated Twitter after laying off approximately 75% of its workforce. He will continue to make Tesla a premiere car company even though he deleted all the parts that he thought were unnecessary, and no one will be surprised when SpaceX makes it to Mars before NASA.

After finishing the book, I don’t know what I would say about Musk. Other than I know that I would never work for him, and I don’t think I would ever buy one of his cars. He is a man who desperately loves his family, but his mind doesn’t understand empathy and deep love. The man is a trainwreck that I can’t look away from. And yes, Elon, invest in Kevlar boots since you will always be your own worst enemy.

Walter Isaacson, though repetitive, introduces the reader to the life and bipolar mind of one of this generation’s greatest thinkers. I’m not going to say that Elon is a genius -- it is the people around him who have created the mind-blowing technology -- Elon was just the person who said, “I have an idea, make it work, or I’ll fire you.”

The Raging Storm

Title: The Raging Storm
Author: Ann Cleeves
Published: September 5, 2023 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover 383 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Two Rivers #3

First Sentence: The man blew into Greystone at the height of a September gale.

Blurb: When Jem Rosco—sailor, adventurer, and legend—blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.

This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded.

As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove’s storm of dark secrets.(GoodReads)

My Opinion: Sometimes I wonder if I am smart enough to read an Ann Cleeves novel since I seem to be the last to the party.

It could be that because I am rewatching the Vera television series, but part of this book seemed familiar but also different at the same time. Matthew Venn is not Vera Stanhope, but they both approach the “dead body in the boat” the same way, and as their investigations broaden, other secrets come to life.

There is no way that I would have been able to guess the ultimate person responsible for the murder of the local celebrity, but I’m not sure that is what Ann Cleeves wanted. By the time I finished, I thought Greystone was the main character in the book and the body was secondary. The dark, gloomy, superstitious town of rumors and side-eye is what carried the novel through.

Of course, I will continue with Matthew Venn since his story is still coming to light, and one day, I hope to, not exactly be a step ahead, but at least not a football field behind.

The Longmire Defense

Title: The Longmire Defense
Author: Craig Johnson
Published: September 5, 2023 by Viking
Format: Kindle, 336 Pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: Walt Longmire #19

First Sentence: “Where have you been?” I looked out amid the grove of aspens that led to the beaver pond where Hero trimmed the small saplings and dragged them into the water, ever building, ever improving his tiny world near my family cabin in the Bighorn National Forest.

Blurb: Walt Longmire faces one of his most challenging crime scenes as he tries to reckon with the revelations of his last case where he confronted the ghosts of his past and questioned the very nature of justice and mercy in the hard country of the West.

Deep in the heart of the Wyoming countryside, Sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire, is called to a crime scene like few others that he has seen. This crime brings up issues that go back to Walt's grandfather's time in Wyoming, as the revelations he learns about his grandfather come back to offer clues and motives for Walt's investigation. Filled with back-country action, and with the great cast of characters that readers have come to love with the Longmire series, this new book will be sure to satisfy both long-time readers and those new to the series. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: I am relieved that Craig Johnson is back to his old ways and no longer in the land of make-believe. The last couple of books had me wondering what rabbit hole he wanted us to travel with him, but I am glad we are all back on sure footing. Except for the coincidental finding of a missing gun on a 25,000-acre piece of property in the middle of nowhere - a story must begin somewhere.

This narrative was a long time coming. Readers familiar with Walt’s father and the unsettled past will see that the author finally took this fork in the road and answered some questions, along with opening a few new detours in Walt’s story.

I liked the “oh, you’re not the bad guy I thought you were” feel of the book. The usual characters are there, each playing their parts and new characters that we will hopefully see in the future. But with Walt and Craig, only time will tell.

A Body in a Cornish Village

Title: A Body in a Cornish Village
Author: Dee MacDonald
Published: August 17, 2023 by Bookouture
Format: Kindle, 278 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Kate Palmer #7

First Sentence: There wasn't a cloud in the August Sky.

Blurb: Kate Palmer is delighted when she learns that her home, the beautiful seaside village of Tinworthy, is the setting for a new TV show. She’s even more excited when she, her handsome husband Woody and her drama queen sister Angie are all invited to be extras. But when the cameras start rolling, the trio are in for a nasty surprise when the film’s writer and producer, Crispin Wyngarde, drops dead.

Before long, rumours start flying and Angie is in the spotlight for murder. Kate knows her sister had a brief, stormy fling with Crispin during her younger days as an actress, but surely Angie couldn’t have hated him that much, could she?

Kate is certain of her sister’s innocence, and is determined to prove it. But who would want to kill Crispin and set the stage for Angie to take the fall? Could it be Fergal, Angie’s jealous boyfriend? Sonja, the eccentric director, who had a love-hate relationship with Crispin? Or gorgeous Guy, the hairdresser who’s held a grudge against the problematic producer for years?

Armed with a list of possible culprits, Kate sets out to interview everyone she can. Over cups of tea, secrets start to spill out about overheard conversations and mysterious money transfers. But just as Kate thinks she’s finally on the right track, her main suspect is found dead after a party in the village. To make matters worse, he’s one of Angie’s old flames too.

Kate needs to solve the crime – and quick – to save her feisty sister. Can she untangle the clues and get to the truth, before it’s curtains down for Angie? (GoodReads)

My Opinion: I feel disappointed that the Kate Palmer series has come to an end. It's hard to find many amateur detective series that feature middle-aged women. I wish more series didn't depend on bouncy curls and boyfriends who are conveniently detectives, which is overused in cozy mysteries. Though Kate does live in a small seaside town, it was enjoyable to follow her as she walks on trails and unravels the mystery.

However, I'm looking forward to Dee MacDonald's upcoming books. I hope they'll captivate me just as much as Kate and Angie did.