Book Reviews – Summer Reading

Astor by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Anderson Cooper is perhaps best known as a correspondent for 60 Minutes. His mother was the late Gloria Vanderbilt and his previous book was about that family’s history. This time he takes a thorough look at the Astors – starting with John Jacob Astor, who was the immigrant son of a German butcher. Astor started his family fortune by selling beaver pelts and then turned to New York real estate. The Astor fortune was built on the back of tenement housing and, as New York was inundated by European immigrants looking for a new start, the housing market boomed. Cooper and Howe take us through the family feuds, building of hotels and the creation of the ‘400’ families. It’s a fascinating read for anyone interested in the Gilded Age and is well researched and immensely readable.

The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child

Another excellent Jack Reacher novel and, for anyone counting, this is the 28th in the Reacher series. The Secret finds Reacher working as part of an inter-agency task force after the suspicious deaths of some retired scientists. As Reacher and the others try to get up to speed and find out who is killing these men, the real question emerges – why are these scientists being killed? What happened 23 years ago that is so important and who is working hard to keep this a secret? This is an easy and entertaining read and fans of Reacher should be well satisfied.

Putin’s Prisoner – My time as a prisoner of war in Ukraine by Aiden Aslin with John Sweeney

Aslin tells his story as a concerned libertarian who went to Syria to fight Isis and then moved to Ukraine to fight as a member of the Ukrainian marines against the Russian invasion. In April 2022, he was captured by Russian forces after surrendering in Mariupol along with over a thousand other Ukrainian soldiers when they ran out of supplies. Unfortunately for Aslin, he was known for his anti-Russian invasion social media content, so he was singled out for some ‘special’ time with interrogators. He was then forced to spout pro-Russian propaganda and was, ultimately, sentenced to death by the court. His telling of the horrors of the beatings, the psychological terror of thinking each day might be your last and the friendships created under such strain is a fascinating yet easy read. Aslin was released in a prisoner exchange and is currently living in the UK with his family and Ukrainian wife.

The Motherhood Space by Gabrielle Nancarrow

“Mothers do the most important work and yet it remains invisible, unsupported and unpaid” … and so begins Australian author Gabrielle Nancarrow’s salute to motherhood in the modern age. Much of what she writes, and draws on from other sources, will be very familiar to older mothers who have already navigated this path, but it does not make it any less true. This book is about sharing the emotional rollercoaster of becoming, and being, a mother whether you are straight, LGBTQIA+, living with a disability, single, partnered or an adoptive mother. Nancarrow finds the common threads that bind mothers together regardless of where they live, what their ethnic background is or how much they have in the bank. It is the inevitable “other side” of the original feminist campaign to see women take their rightful place alongside men in the work space. While Nancarrow celebrates the joys of mothering, she does not shy away from describing the struggles, loneliness, doubt and worry that come with the job. The book is well written, and includes touching and poignant photographs of lots of mammas with their beautiful bubs.

The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury

In the story book The Cat Who Taught Zen, British author and illustrator James Norbury has created a beautiful tale that both children and parents, or even grandparents, will enjoy. He draws on his Buddhism and zoology knowledge to take the reader on a journey of self-discovery. With a cat as the guide, readers encounter many real and imaginary creatures, each with a story to impart. The quest is to reach an ancient pine tree far away, where the cat hopes to find infinite wisdom under its boughs. But a chance encounter with a kitten teaches the cat an important lesson. Quietly told and beautifully illustrated, this book is one to treasure.