Recent books

* “Down River”:amazon by John Hart. Wow wow. A real pip of a story. A young man returns to his bucolic hometown after a 5 year disgraced absence, and a whole shitstorm of family dysfunction, unresolved conflict, betrayal, assault, and murder explodes. Fun! * “Forgotten Continent: The Battle For Latin America’s Soul”:amazon by Michael Reid. Like many US citizens, my conception of South American history and politics is basically this: conquered by Spain, freed by Bolivar, a mess of revolutions ever since. That is pretty much what I remember from middle school. This was thus a great book for me, a little long and tough going in parts, but a pretty good walk through of these societies and politics over the last 100 years. Way too much to absorb but a great read.