Title: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Started: 11/30/09
Finished:  1/15/10
More Information: Amazon
Jon’s Summary: If you ever decide to read a book on Abe Lincoln, you should probably read this one. Why? Well because about halfway through the book I realized that it read more like fiction than history. You really feel connected to historical figures that died over a hundred years ago due to Goodwin’s writing style. And even though you know that the book will come to an abrupt stop on April 15, 1865, you still hope things may turn out differently!

Read this book mostly over 3 weeks, as I didn’t get much reading in over the holiday. It goes surprisingly fast as you want to… Continue reading

Title: Lies I Told My Children Author: Karen McQuestion Started: 11/11/09 Finished:  11/16/09 More Information: Amazon Jon’s Summary: So contrary to what you might expect, this book is not about lying to kids. Well not explicitly, anyway. I happened to stumble on this book because it was insanely cheap at Kindle marketplace, only $1.99! I figured – heck, how bad can it be? And the preview looked promising. So I plunked down 2 dollars and was promptly amazed by a number of things:

1. 2 dollars gets you what you pay for quantity wise – this thing is pretty short. Heading from Toledo to Detroit via plane (20 minutes, 50 with boarding, etc..) – then take this book along. It’ll be a quick read.

2. The essays given are… Continue reading

OK, so since I read a fair bit on the train to and from work, I’ve decided to start publishing reviews on JonWestfall.Com for a variety of reasons. First, so I remember later what I thought of a book. Second, so perhaps others get a sense of books they might want to read. And Third, it’s a cheap source of material to keep new content flowing. So here’s the first review, of a book I finished this morning.

Title: Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent
Author: Anthony Rapp
Started: 11/3/09
Finished: 11/11/09
Jon’s Summary: The author examines a period in his life between 1994-1998 which found him staring in a Broadway production and simultaneously dealing with the prolonged illness and death of his mother… Continue reading