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If you like Bosch, this is a fun one. Takes him out of his element, and one of the few books in the series that I didn't see the resolution to in advance. A lot of moving pieces, but it gets resolved.

This book is phenomenal. The length is intimidating, but it is worth it.

I knew very little about Grant. I found him to be fascinating. Chernow obviously admires the man, but also does not shy away from his faults and mistakes. Indeed, some of his faults run straight through the narrative.

Finishing this book, I have a new appreciation for the man. He was far from perfect. He made some serious blunders, and remained gullible almost to his dying day. Still, he was incredibly steadfast, had an incredible strategic mind, and was (in some ways) progressive for his time.

I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at 48 (!) hours. It is very well done, and I enjoyed it. My only complaint is that all the southern voices sound like derivatives of Foghorn Leghorn.

While it is very long, and in depth, it never seemed to get bogged down into details.

Just finished this, but it was already on my "best of 2019" list.

Kruse shows the link between the rise of public expressions of religion and the opposition to the New Deal. In other words, it was largely part of a public relations campaign to equate big business with "freedom in God."

I did not grow up in Church, but the idea that America has always been a very religious country was not new to me. However, Kruse shows that, in reality, the public faith only came to prominence under Eisenhower, and has its roots in opposition to FDR's policies. The links between big business and Christian nationalism are not an accident, Kruse argues, but instead a deliberate goal.

Early in my Christian life I was in the churches that link the GOP and God. I have, by grace, learned better. Still, Kruse gave me a lot to think about, and showed me history of this period of time in a way I had not encountered. I'm grateful for it.

Quite the trip. Took me a bit to get into it, but it helps my attention all the way through. The world building in it is complete, but not so confusing that one can't follow it. Looking forward to the next book.

Didn't figure this one out completely before the reveal.

Ending was also very good

This is, hands-down, the best book I've read this year, and easily all-time top 5 non-fiction for me.

I'm going to have to do some processing, and hopefully write a longer review. But I cannot recommend this highly enough. It is thorough, well-written, and will make you very uncomfortable.

This story took a while for me to get into. Partly, it's that the protagonist isn't terribly likeable, and the main plot seems to be her just being horrible to people.

However, as things go on, you begin to enjoy getting to know her, and observing her interactions with people, her simultaneous intelligence and social cluelessness, it's hard not to start pulling for her. Even though you know very well that the crush she has on the musician (which drives a large part of the plot) is not going to turn out well.

It's a fascinating portrait of a person who has experienced deep trauma.

MILD SPOILER AHEAD

In the end, the emotional transformation is very satisfying, as is the ending, where she finally starts putting pieces together.

Good info, mildly amusing, pretty dated. I mean, that last one is obvious, but I'm putting it out there in case you missed it somehow.