Nixonland    *****    Maybe more than most folks want to know about that crook, but the author makes it clear how bad he really was, why he was able to win, and why the Repubs have been successful up until this November.

Random Family    *****  The best insight I’ve read into what it’s like to grow up, live, and exist today in the Bronx as someone poor and Hispanic.

Three Cups of Tea    *****   If even half of what Mortenson portrays here is accurate, he deserves to be widely read and hailed for his work in making this world a better place to live.

A Long Way Gone    **** Memoirs of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone. A tough read, but once read, you begin to understand the horror of child soldiers.

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union  **  The reviews of this novel promised a good read, but I found it plodding and not worth the time I spent reading it.