Nonfiction Recent Reads

Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe (2022)

In Vanderbilt, Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe explore another of America's most famous families - this time, his own mother's family.  For those who don't know, Anderson Cooper's mother was Gloria Vanderbilt, so this gives him unique knowledge and perspective in writing about the rise and fall of the Vanderbilt dynasty.  From "the Commodore's" ruthless beginnings to marrying into British aristocracy to the mansions of Newport, the Vanderbilt family had quite an interesting run, with both professional and personal wins and devastating losses.  As with this duo's other nonfiction book, Astor, I enjoyed learning about the family - some things I already knew, but other stories were new to me, and it was a quick and easy read.  4 stars

Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (2024)

Besides a cataclysmic natural event, what else could bring about the end of the world as we know it?  The answer is nuclear war.  In Nuclear War, Annie Jacobsen imagines (through the use of extensive interviews and documents) what would happen from the moment a nuclear missile is launched at the United States to a devastating conclusion, which would probably happen a lot faster than you would think.  I was fascinated by the idea of this book the minute I heard about it but put off reading it for awhile - I wanted to know but also, I didn't want to know, at the same time.  It scared me, but also felt like information I needed to know.  Jacobsen gives a minute-by-minute account of what is likely happening, in both America and abroad, from just a few seconds after North Korea (hypothetically but also inexplicably) launches a nuclear missile at Washington, D.C.  It was both fascinating and terrifying to learn about the decisions that have to be made (and how quickly), the chain of command that has to be in place, and our various retaliatory measures, while ultimately knowing that this one missile will cause complete destruction, chaos, and devastation the world over through a chain of events that, once started, can't be stopped.  This is definitely not light reading - while it is informative (teaching us about the history of "the Football," for example), it is also brutal and gory.  4 stars

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