Recent Books -- American and Iran, Toaster Project, Foundryside, Freezing Order, Nazi Billionaires

25 October 2022

America and Iran: A History 1720 to the Present by John Ghazvinian. This has been a long read, and an exceptional read. So much I didn’t know. Heartbreaking, so much ill will and bad behaviour between the countries, serving no one’s purpose. Such opportunity lost.
The Toaster Project: Or A Heroic Attempt to Build a Simple Electric Appliance from Scratch by Thomas Thwaites. A very short book documenting this project. Reminds you of just how advanced and specialized and interconnected our society is; the days of living along off the land are long gone.
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. Quite entertaining fantasy romp. A young thief gains access to magical secrets and upends the power structure of a country. Good characters. First of a series and I’m sure I’d enjoy the rest, tho this works very well on its own.
Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath by Bill Browder. A pretty exciting tale about money laundering and the attempts to fight it over the last 2 decades. A very dangerous fight.
Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany’s Wealthiest Dynasties by David de Jong. A long retelling of the wealth of some of Germany’s richest people, and how many of these families benefitted from Nazi ties. The book kind of loses its way in the flood of never ending details and maybe that is the point – the ties to the Nazis were pervasive, and never really resolved.