Tag: Nonfiction

Review: Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars by Paul Buhle and Raymond Tyler

July 26, 2025

Title: Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars Author: Paul Buhle and Raymond Tyler Illustrator: Summer McClinton Pages: 137 “There is never peace in West Virginia because there is never justice.”  Mother Jones This was a beautifully illustrated history of the West Virginia mine wars. I really loved … More Review: Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars by Paul Buhle and Raymond Tyler

Review: Faithful Unto Death: Pet Cemeteries, Animal Graves, and Eternal Devotion by Paul Koudounaris

July 19, 2025

“The love the animals gave will never be forgotten.” This was a beautifully written book about the love people hold for their pets and how we deal with their deaths. Paul Koudounaris photographs and research into pet cemeteries really shows a whole new side of love and grief that most people don’t think about.  The … More Review: Faithful Unto Death: Pet Cemeteries, Animal Graves, and Eternal Devotion by Paul Koudounaris

Review: The Lady From the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Mera

July 12, 2025

“The beauty of Milicent’s life and work was, like that of many other women, purposefully hidden to rob her of her power and her influence.” This biography/memoir discussed the life and hidden legacy of the Creature from the Black Lagoon designer Milicent Patrick. Milicent created one of the most iconic movie monsters and the last … More Review: The Lady From the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Mera

Review: The Devil Is Here in These Hills: West Virginia’s Coal Miners and Their Battle for Freedom by James Green

June 20, 2025

“God does not walk in these hills…The devil is here in these hills, and the devil is greed.” General Charles D. Elliott As a West Virginian, I will admit I only recently learned about the mine wars.  About four years ago my work created an exhibit and presentation about it be mine wars and it … More Review: The Devil Is Here in These Hills: West Virginia’s Coal Miners and Their Battle for Freedom by James Green

Review: Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

April 14, 2025

“One estimate…maintains that TB has killed around one in seven people who ever lived.” Tuberculosis is something that I knew was a thing that killed a lot of people but I didn’t realize it was still so rampant and that it is still killing on such a wide scale. Green does a great job at … More Review: Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

Review: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

April 11, 2025

This book is hard to rate because Du Mez has clearly done her research but I do think some of the content was a bit repetitive, especially with the repetitive discussions of men and women’s place in society. As a non religious person, this book really helped me to understand the current political environment and … More Review: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

ARC Review: Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold

March 31, 2025

“No murderer should ever be the guardian of their victim’s story, and yet this is the role that Hawley Harvey Crippen has always held.” Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five,  is back and this time deep diving into the North London Cellar Murder. This is a case that I had never heard of before picking … More ARC Review: Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold

Review: The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel

February 25, 2025

This was a fascinating look at the life and crimes of master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Breitwieser and his girlfriend, Anna-Catherine Kleinklaus, carried out more than two hundred heists over eight years and stole more than three hundred objects. This book goes over his life, his many heists, and his eventual capture and imprisonment.  I remember … More Review: The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel

Review: She Kills Me: The True Stories of History’s Deadliest Women by Jennifer Wright

February 20, 2025

This was a brief but informative look at 40 women from history who have become killers for various reasons. While this was a great way to introduce readers to women from history, some of these bios were extremely short, like 1 minute or so, which I found to be disappointing. I do think this is … More Review: She Kills Me: The True Stories of History’s Deadliest Women by Jennifer Wright

ARC Review: The Witch of the Forest’s Guide to Folklore Magick by Lindsay Squire

February 18, 2025

This book covers using various herbs, flowers, and plants for the use of folklore magic. This book starts by covering different types of ways these plants can be used, such as in teas, infusions, oils, liniment, and salves. After that, it jumps into the different types of herbs, flowers, trees, and poisonous (baneful) herbs. This … More ARC Review: The Witch of the Forest’s Guide to Folklore Magick by Lindsay Squire

ARC Review: The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats by Alyson Brokaw

February 9, 2025

This was a fascinating and informative book about bats! I feel like every time I read a book about bats new information has been discovered about them. While this book goes over basic characteristics of bats, it also includes recent discoveries, like the white-nose syndrome and viruses.  There are over 1400 species of bats currently … More ARC Review: The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats by Alyson Brokaw

Review: Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright

January 11, 2025

“Diseases are the most fundamental enemy of the human race, and we must be at constant war against them.” This was a fascinating book about thirteen different plagues and how they were handled. I have only heard about most of these but never done deeper research into them. This book provided a great introduction to … More Review: Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright