The 9th Man--#76 finished

 This is from the author Steve Berry from the Cotton Malone series and teamed up with Grant Blackwood.  They pulled one of the new comers from that series Luke Daniels and they are giving him a few books in his series, this is the first of that.  Luke is called by an old friend to help out because her and her uncle are in trouble.  Luke gets to the house in Belgium and uncle is killed by intruders at same time.  Luke teams up with with Jillian, the old friend, to see why they came after uncle and why now after Luke and Jillian.  There is the old bad guy that has hired thugs going after them.  Bad guys keep on their tail to Louisiana and TX and Wyoming.  Comes down that people were looking too close into some details about the JFK assassination and the bad old buy didn't want his part to come out.  An interesting quick page turner kind of action.  Nothing great but nice start on a series, will have to see where it goes.

There are 7 WL for this book so will get it posted at some point.  Just got offered the 2nd book in series so might try to read right away and maybe mail them together.

Officer Clemmons--#75 finished

 Now this is a something different book from the sort of series stuff I was reading.  This is a memoir by the person that played Officer Clemmons on Mr Rogers Neighborhood kids show.  This is a book that I am not sure why I paid the 50 cents at the library for it and then why did I read it right away.  I guess I wanted something a little lighter.  It was a good read about his life but certainly not a light read.  He grew up poor in Alabama with his mother getting beaten up by his dad.  Mother & siblings moved to Youngstown OH where he went to school and developed into a singer.  His step dad wasn't happy with him and beat him forcing him to move out of the house in high school.  His talent enough to get him into college at Oberlin and he earns his music degree and gets accepted into a masters program at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.  It is while singing in Pittsburgh he meets Fred Rogers and is worked onto the show.  Clemmons is also a gay man back in the 1960s and 1970s when not much freedom for that.  He is basically forced to marry a high school gal that was sweet on him to keep hidden him being gay.  The marriage doesn't last but a few years but I guess enough to satisfy people.  He has a very good career as a singer and eventually ends up at a small college in New England as a teacher.  Interesting read and also nothing but very good things to say about Mr Rogers.  Dr Clemmons is an interesting person that has lived through some interesting times.

There are 5 WL for this book so I will mail off in PBS at some point.

The Profiteers--#74 finished

 The rest of the title is: Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World.  This is a really interesting read mostly about the business but obviously some about the Bechtel family.  A leading construction and into a little of everything company.  The founder's big step up to the big time was being of the leading contractors on building the Hoover Dam.  From there they went into helping the WWII war effort building ships.  The company took on projects of every sort--pipe lines, roads, nuclear, transit, etc.  The company went big internationally as well.  This is a privately owned company still today that does huge amount of business in US and outside the US in areas of interest.  The book really delves into this relationship between people in the company that move to big decision making positions in government and then when that admin changes they come back to the company and seemingly others in company join the new admin.  The way the author explains the Reagan presidency and the Iran Contra Affair and Iraq-gate is probably the best I have read--don't quiz me on it because is confusing and would have to go back and read again but I remember understanding and like a light bulb coming on when I read it.  A really good read and one that really makes you think about the whole military industrial complex--while maybe not making the bombs this company making the factories, the nuclear material, etc to get these done.  This family has become super rich from us taxpayers.  Not saying they haven't done good work but certainly see many times their business interests trump us needs or wants.

I got this book from PBS but it is a keeper for now.  Have some friends that might be interested in reading. 

Bread and Wine--#73 finished

 This is one of my classic books.  I remember reading one of the author's other books--Fontamara back in college or at least read enough to write an essay or two on it.  One of those classes I still remember--Dr Sanchez in the History Dept, I took 2 classes with him.  One was on the Spanish Civil War and read For Whom The Bells Toll and other books about the war.  I can't remember the other class name but there were no text books, just instead novels.  I have probably kept most of the books so I could probably dig through my shelves to find the others if I wanted.  But obviously I have digressed.  This book Bread and Wine talks about Italy in 1938 being led by a dictator--Mussolini right before they go to war in Ethiopia.  The main character is a communist radical that for several years has been living outside of Italy in exile.  He has come back but is wanted by authorities.  His friends help him hid as a priest and put him up in a small town since his health is bad.  While there the small town is excited to have a priest, even if he won't say Mass.  He is disillusioned with both the dictator and the communists as well as the people that are not striving for something better.  A really good read about this time in Italy and the struggles of the people.

This is a keeper for me, will have to match it up with the other book when I have time to go looking.

Conditional Citizens--#72 finished

 The author talks about her life and becoming a US citizen in 2000 and how even becoming a citizen it doesn't seem to give her everything that others in the US have.  Talks about growing up in Morocco and life there and then moving to the US for college and staying and becoming a citizen.  She delves into the history of US citizenship and how not everyone here has or can enjoy it.  A really good and interesting read.  I was back home with my parents when I finished this book and left it with my mom for her to read.

I will probably post & send off on PBS once I get back from my mom.

Below the Line--#71 finished

 This is the 2nd in series--and so far last one--of a sort of detective Charlie Waldo.  A burnt out police detective helps out his sort of girlfriend that is a private investigator.  Waldo has downsized his life to only having 100 things, tries to buy only locally sourced food and tries to only ride his bike or public transportation.  Interesting how he thinks and gets around.  A high school girl that has trouble with the truth, hires them for one thing and it turns into a murder investigation with her as prime suspect.  An interesting and quick type read.  Not sure if the series will continue or not but would keep reading if it does.

I have posted it on PBS & is only copy and I also have only copy of the 1st book in series too.  Be nice if someone ordered both together.