Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune

Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe  322 pp.

As he did with his own family in Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, Anderson Cooper & Katherine Howe chronicle another family of wealth and fame in the Gilded Age of the Robber Barons. The story begins with Johann Jakob (the first John Jacob) Astor's arrival in the U.S. to build his fortune in the fur trade, continuing through the building of the family's wealth through massive real estate holdings in New York, to the last downfall when Brooke Astor's son was convicted of defrauding his elderly mother. There are only brief mentions of the ex-pat branch of the family who created their own dynasty within the British peerage system. Even the less savory episodes in the family are handled matter-of-factly and not inflated by scandal mongering. An epilogue tells a brief history of actress Mary Astor, who was not related but was given the stage name to manufacture a public presence for her budding acting career. I listened to the audiobook version read by Cooper.

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege, 221 pages.
We did this for a special book group earlier this year. It's a very interesting book; the author sees a book by her biological mother and through reading it discovers many things, some disturbing, about her family and her past. Chief among the disturbing things is the fact that her maternal grandfather was Amon Goth, the Butcher of Plaszow. Recommended for readers of memoir, personal history and anyone who likes an interesting story.

Far from the Tree

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway, 374 pages.

Grace has grown up knowing that she had been adopted. Her parents have always told her that they will help her find her biological family when she was ready. Grace discovers she is pregnant and when she tells her boyfriend, his parents decide that he has to break up with her.. With her life spiraling a bit, Grace decides that it's time to seek out her family. When she finds her younger sister Maya, and her older brother Joaquin, she also finds that they have their own problems and questions. They get on relatively well together and they do their best to look out for each other as they try to unravel their shared past. It's a beautifully written book that brings tears to your eyes. Great characters too. Ably narrated by Julia Whelan.

Ants among elephants

Ants among elephants: an untouchable family and the making of modern India / Sujatha Gidla, 306 pages.

An interesting family history that reveals some about the modern India and the caste system.  This book focuses mostly on the lives of the author's mother and her uncles.  It starts with her collecting the family stories and adding to her own history.  She is trying to beat the clock, her elderly relatives are dying off.  One uncle was a revolutionary poet and communist.  He lead some resistance activities but never mastered caring for himself.  His followers, siblings, then wife had to shave him and help him put on his clothes. He devotes his life to the cause and influences his family to do so as well.  In between, daily life happens, people work, marry, fight and reconcile.  Kids are born and jobs are done. I found this to be a remarkable book and about a time and place that is foreign to me.

It's all relative

It's all relative: adventures up and down the world's family tree / A. J. Jacobs,  343 pgs.

Hey cousin - I would like to recommend this book to you. And yes, after reading it, I'm pretty sure that we are cousins.  A. J. Jacobs spent a few years learning about his family and it turns out that is pretty much all of us.  Much like his earlier work, he delves into something and answers many questions that you will have as you read.  As always he uses his own personal foibles to guide him on his quest for information and understanding.  Sure, you can look up and see how closely you are related to really smart, beautiful and/or famous people but then you might find much closer relatives in serial killers so be careful what you with for!

Jacobs decides to have the worlds largest family reunion...an event he plans over a year.  Does it end up a successful event? Hard to say but if the hosts stress level is any indication, it was at least memorable.

Fun stuff including an index with many good resources for your family tree project!

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, 243 pages. This was our December book discussion title. I listened to the CD, narrated by Adennele Ojo, Bahni Turpin (my all-time favorite cuz of her work on Smekday), and Adam Lazarre-White, for about half the book and then read the rest. Hattie and her young husband move from Gerorgia to Baltimore when she was just 17. The first two of her Tribe, Philadelphia and Jubilee, die as infants and break Hattie's heart. All her children that follow long to see the love she showed her first two babies, but Hattie's never really capable of that kind of feeling again. Each chapter follows another of her children (and one grandchild) through their mostly tragic lives; and through those chapters we see the story of Hattie and her husband, August as their love dies but their shared lives continue. An engaging, if somewhat depressing book that chronicles children and parents wanting for love,  and sometimes food and material things. Check our catalog. Ebook Downloadable audiobook.

The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century / David Laskin 383 pp.

A well-constructed and highly readable extended family story. Laskin's ancestors divide into three branches: the original family, from a village called Rakov in what is now Ukraine (or Belarus?), the Israeli, and the American. He and an Israeli cousin sifted through oral family stories and any written historical evidence to trace these three narratives. The result is fascinating. The Israeli branch was begun by a pioneering young women early in the 30s with a powerful wish to settle and develop 'the Land.' The American family ventured to New York where they started a dry goods business and the Maidenform bra company and experienced spectacular commercial success. The Europeans' experience was as tragic as it was predictable. Laskin is a highly talented nonfiction writer; I greatly enjoyed his book The Children's Blizzard. He has a particular flair for concise and vivid physical description. I strongly recommend this one.