Review: Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men

Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schechter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The strange and brutal murders of at least 9 people in La Porte, Indiana in the early 21st century has perplexed the town residents for years. It is the case of Belle Gunness, a matrimonial murderess dubbed "Hell's Princess" among other erstwhile nicknames. Young Belle was a Norwegian immigrant to the US in the late 1800s. Once she arrived, she moved to Chicago to live near her sister. Unmarried with no kids, Belle takes on the foster care of a couple of children, as well as her niece. Soon after, she marries and her husband eventually passes away. She moves to the Norwegian settlement of La Porte, Indiana. It is there that her second husband suffers a fatal accident, leaving her twice widowed. Thereafter, many men come into her life, but they never seem to leave. This true tale echoes similar odd and mysterious circumstances such as the likes of H. H. Holmes and his Murder Capital, the notorious serial killer of the Chicago's 1893 World Exposition.

Harold Schechter details Gunness's life from her landing in the United States through her supposed death and beyond. It has been a confounding case that continues unsolved or has it? I was completely engrossed in this story. Schechter has an engaging writing style that keeps you drawn into Belle's life. It is a quick read but includes a great amount of information. I happened to read the Kindle In Motion version of this story which added to the experience. This new Kindle technology has animated pictures that keep the story interesting. I highly recommend any book that is being read on a Kindle app to utilize the Kindle In Motion technology.

I received this book gratis through Goodreads Giveaways.

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Review: The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation

The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation by Gene Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This Pulitzer Prize winning book examins the role that the media had on the modern Civil Rights movement. In the late 40s and into the 50s, little coverage in newsprint was given to the issues of African Americans in the southern United States. The stories of beatings, lynchings, and mistreatment were detailed in segregationist newspapers printed for and sold to southern Black Americans. As key figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X began to gain national attention, media sources picked up the stories. In print and eventually in television and radio, the Civil Rights movement garnered headline news and breaking stories. The role of the media during this time should not be overlooked. Indeed, the media brought these issues to the forefront of the nation's mind and helped in the fight to bring about much needed legistlation, such as the Voting Rights Act.

Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff recount the events of the civil rights struggle from Brown V. BOE to Selma and beyond through the eyes of the journalists, photographers, and newscasters, both black and white. These were the people working what came to be known as the Race Beat. Many put themselves in harm's way to get the stories that needed to be told to the nation and it is these stories that helped give a voice to civil rights issues in America.

"If it hadn't been for the media - the print media and television - the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings, a choir without a song." - John Lewis

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Review: Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father

Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a detailed biography of the lives of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, and her father Amos Bronson Alcott. To get a full sense of who Louisa was, one needs to get a fair picture of her father and her entire family. Bronson was of the group of Transcendentalists which included the likes of Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller. Bronson, an author himself, educator, and speaker did not always live up to the same stature of his peers and the family often struggled because of it. His wife and their four daughters were often left alone to handle the home situation while Bronson traveled for business. It was during these times that the women spent together that gave Louisa inspiration to write Little Women and many other published works. Despite having a strained relationship at times, Louisa and Bronson became close in their later years.

This is a great book for any fan of LMA and the Little Women series. I wasn't always a fan of Bronson and reading about his life was my least favorite part of the book; however, it really helps to understand him and his thoughts and ideas to understand Louisa and what drove and inspired her.

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