The Children Return by Martin Walker

 (read aloud)

    Bruno depends on his military training and also solves a mystery about the history of Saint Denis. Jewish children and a child-like Muslim figure in the engaging plot.

The Sailing of the Intrepid by Montel Williams

     About a damaged rudder from a torpedo and heroic efforts to steer a giant ship. The Intrepid was a fixture of the US Navy from Tripoli to Apollo splashdowns. Heavy combat exposure and repairs and back to war.

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Coterill

 (read aloud)

    The first of a series of mysteries set in Laos. Delightful characters and interesting political asides. Much culture and language interaction, which seem reliable and sensible. A fragrance of kindness wafts throughout, mainly through the doctor, who is a 72-year-old widower, retired surgeon.

1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin

     A detailed book about the Depression. It is interesting and I think demythologizes some of the accepted narrative. It seems Hoover did not cause the Depression and FDR didn't save the economy. FDR did change American economics and politics forever. Hoover changed the nomenclature from "panic" to "depression," possibly his biggest mistake because it implied a longer duration and more need for intervention.

Makers of the Microchip by Christophe Lécuyer and David C. Brock

     This book is basically a gloss of included pages of the engineering notebooks of the founders of Fairchild. These men invented the microchip and went on to found the rest of Silicon Valley, including Intel. I would have gotten more out of it if I had read the appendix first, which is a carefully written and thus valuable refresher on semiconductor structure.

Douglas Fir: The Story of the West's Most Remarkable Tree by Stephen F. Arno and Carl E. Fiedler

     A small but very interesting book about the Doug fir. Full of interesting facts and history. Also much about forest fires and forest and fire management which is very complex.

 

Matters of Doubt by Warren C. Easley

(read aloud)

     First of Cal Claxton mysteries, a lawyer who gets drawn into a missing person/murder cold case in Portland. Very full of PDX arcana and memes and clichés. Plot too complicated, characters formulaic. Enjoyable but very Portlandia.