Reading Time: 3 minutesReview: John Adams By David McCullough Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) Keeping with our theme of patriotism The book is long and very detailed. It is also the basis of the HBO series Adams, similar to the book and play on Hamilton. I tried to cover in this review everything the book detailed about…

Reading Time: 3 minutesReview: Hamilton Ron Chernow Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow’s monumental biography, traces Hamilton’s rise from poverty in the Caribbean to his place as a Founding Father, the first Secretary of the Treasury, and the chief architect of America’s financial system. Chernow portrays Hamilton as brilliant, driven, and deeply human —…

Reading Time: 3 minutesThis is not a traditional book review. It is an attempt to better understand a condition that is widely misunderstood—one that affects people close to me. And to be clear, it is not caused by medication, vaccines, or Tylenol. I bought this book because I felt a responsibility to understand autism better.…

Reading Time: 2 minutesLeonardo da Vinci — Walter Isaacson Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Image is generated by Gemini Walter Isaacson’s Leonardo da Vinci was a fascinating read, and I walked away surprised by how much I didn’t know. We often think of Leonardo primarily as a painter, but the book makes it clear that he was…

Reading Time: 2 minutesOf Mice and Men Genre – Fiction Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) The Burden of the Dream: A Review of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men This image is generated with Gemini Before John Steinbeck penned his massive epic The Grapes of Wrath, he wrote a short, 100-page novella that remains one of the…

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Grapes of Wrath Genre – Fiction Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) The Story This could almost be considered historical fiction, as it follows the mass migration from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s—an event that devastated farms and uprooted entire communities. The novel centers on poor farming families forced to…

Reading Time: 4 minutesReview: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) One thing about Howard Zinn is that he truly walked the walk. He wasn’t just a historian on paper—he lived the struggles he wrote about. Zinn taught at Spelman College for seven years, chairing the History and Social…

Reading Time: 2 minutesRating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) A Snapshot of the Man Behind the Myth Benjamin Franklin, born January 17, 1706, in Boston, remains one of the most fascinating figures in American history. His autobiography offers a rare chance to hear his story in his own voice — but it’s also a product of its time,…

Reading Time: 3 minutesCacao, Change, and the Scent of Clove: A Deep Dive into Jorge Amado’s Bahia By Jorge Amado Jorge Amado’s Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon may be one of the finest pieces of historical fiction I’ve ever read. Nearly every detail is grounded in real events, real politics, and real social norms of 1920s…