WHAT I DID THIS SUMMER...

             

I read lots of books!!!!!  The best 17 are here:

America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It - Mark Steyn

Humorous confirmation of what you  already know about the Muslim agenda.  The EU's birth rates are so low that native European populations are halved with each successive generation.  Europe's Muslims are multiplying -- but they are not integrating culturally.  But as Europe slips into a long Eurabian night, America 's population still climbs at a healthy rate, and is still able to politically and culturally integrate immigrants.

The Big Short:  Inside the Doomsday Machine - Michael Lewis

The housing and credit bubble:  In the old days, people put 20% down (of their own money) and the lender financed 80%.  The loan was paid off, in its entirety, over a long haul (30 years), to the original lender, often a Savings & Loan.  In the mortgage crisis days, the loans were "originate and sell," the mortgage makers/lenders getting their fee up-front, and  immediately selling the mortgage to another entity to collect the loan payments.  The mortgages were then bundled into bonds and sold as real estate investments, all of which, using smoke and mirrors were made to look like “good investments,” which the ratings agencies went along with.  And, of course, some found a way to make money on all of this, by betting on default.  (One reason all of this collapsed was the belief that home prices could only go up, and therefore defaults wouldn't matter, and therefore many loans could be to ppl who couldn't really afford them,  ARMs with teaser starting rates but with eventual rates that ppl would find impossible to pay.)
 
In the Garden of the Beasts:  Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin - Erik Larson

The true story of William Dodd, the impecunious and thrifty new American ambassador to Germany, and his family, who witness the rise of Hitler in an atmosphere of mounting oppression and terror.  Though his son and daughter are initially entranced by the New Germany and the infectious enthusiasm  of young Nazis, they watch with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of horrific new laws are circulated.

Faithful Place - Tana French

A Dublin Murder Squad detective must deal with tragedy and investigate his own likeable but horribly dysfunctional family.

Six (6) Jacquelyn "Jack" Daniels thrillers (Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb) - J.A. Konrath

Chicago homicide detective Jacquelyn "Jack" Daniels pursues a succession of monstrous killers.  Jack is a mature woman with an estranged ex-husband, an outspoken elderly mom, an annoying private eye ex-partner, and a crazy cat acquired from a serial killer.  She can't sleep and her love life is hopeless, mostly due to the demands of her job.   Despite all this, Jack's attitude is positive and even light-hearted.  Jack balances the horror of her cases with a quietly self-deprecating sense of humor.

Four (4) Harry Hole thrillers (The Redbreast, The Devil's Star, The Snowman, Nemesis) - Jo Nesbo

Harry Hole is a loose cannon on the Oslo Police Force Homicide Squad.  He's a heavy drinker, continuously in trouble because of it, but he's also a brilliant detective.  This, of course, is the only reason he survives.

Three (3) Michael Kelly thrillers (The Fifth Floor, The Chicago Way, We All Fall Down) - Michael Harvey

Cynical, wisecracking Chicago Private Investigator Michael Kelly gets involved in political corruption, bio-terror, murder, etc.


Now, back to my reading...