November 2019 books

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 by Garrett M. Graff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. This book reminded me of things I already knew, but had forgotten. So there were a lot of "oh yeah..." moments: we used to communicate that way, we used to like that guy, we didn't know this/that yet, etc. Reading this book, and watching youtube clips of news coverage as it was on the day, are the closest we can come to understanding the events as they happened rather than through the lens of everything that has taken place since then. And that has value.

That said, this book strangely wasn't riveting except for a few short sections. I am not sure why that is. I wonder if it might be more riveting for someone who doesn't remember 9/11 firsthand, or who wasn't living in America at the time.

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Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book reminded me a lot of Black Ice by the same author: it's a total Monet. I enjoyed it overall but if you look too closely at any one character or plot point, it gets messy. I kept side-eyeing the book and hmmmming to myself, "I...don't think that's how any of this works." But again, a fun read!

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Irena's Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto by Tilar J. Mazzeo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A slow start that eases into an extremely compelling read. I had heard only bits and pieces of the story of the Polish resistance and the Warsaw ghetto before and it is truly astounding. I am so impressed by the bravery of these Polish women and the love they had for others to the point that they were willing to risk their own lives to rescue the children of strangers. I do think this book focuses on Irena at the expense of some of the other women in her network. I am not sure why that is, though I suspect it could be a primary sources thing (Irena is the most famous and kept the best records, or has had records about her kept, whichever way you want to look at it). There was also not a lot for her partner Adam to do in this book, to the point that I was irritated every time he showed up, brooding and complaining and staring out the window or whatever. Irena kept him out of her records for her own personal reasons and while this book seems to be tremendously respectful to her wishes in general, it could have been even more so by leaving him out entirely. In my opinion.

But everyone else can stay. What wonderful people!

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