Russian Roulette by Michael Isikoff and David Corn

It is a very current event. It concerns a larger radius of personal than we are being told.
It is the current subject of Russia and the tampering with the 2016 election for President of the United States.
A book like this covering the subject in a calm journalistic way is needed. Years from now when the historian looks back to see what legacy has been left by Trump, he will need this.
Putin did attack and try to influence the outcome of the election. But he did not do it directly or through his business relationship with Trump.
It is true, Trump needed Putin when it came to access to real estate in Moscow.  Trump Towers was expanding.  To let you know, Trump did not get his Moscow location.
Meanwhile, elections were coming up. The DNC started a file on Trump and how to exploit him. Clinton's E-mail files were attached. Even cyberspace was searched to keep up with the information.
And through malware released by the Russians and downloaded by one of the handlers of Hilary Clinton the files were duped into the Russian data base.
You may think I am making this up to excuse Trump. No. It is detailed in this investigative book.
Also recorded in this report is the part Obama had in not protecting our elective system from being tampered with.
It was a pure case of political espionage. In essence no one has clean hands.
It is subtitled, The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump.
I recommend this book . It is an interesting tale that held my interest and I am sure will hold yours. I don't know the investigative reporters but am informed that Isikoff has worked for the Washington Post and NBC News. Corn is the Washington bureau chief of Mother Jones magazine and an analyst for MSNBC.
Stay informed by reading. Maybe if you don't want this in your permanent collection, you can find it in your local library. But do read it.

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Explanation

She asks a good question. The answer is simple. She lost. She just must get over it and face the truth.  The people didn’t want her in the White House.

There is a principle I learned in my Psychology class—the more you talk about a subject trying to justify an action, the more likely it is that you are trying to convince yourself of a truth which isn’t true.

When I pick up a book written by Mrs. Clinton I get the feeling a snow job is being presented. We may never really know what happened if the only document you depend on is written by a politician. Their job, as I see it, is to snow the people. And with a history such as Hillary has going into this book, the more your snow discerner should be active.

Not that she doesn’t believe her explanation to be truth and as such only she can properly present the facts. In this book she whines (in the fourth grade I wore glasses and the children called me four eyes. That hurt.) and blames.

When the dust settles and historians in years to come research the time covered in this book, from the start to the end, the massive tomes left behind by Clinton will be one of the documents they use. Care must be taken to understand the context, the time in which it was written, and the internal factors that went into the reporting.

This seems to be a popular book. I got my copy through the library. I had to put it on the hold list and I was one of the 325 people who were waiting for one of the 26 books held by the library to be made available. So that is why I am doing this book in 2018

Reading this book, I still don’t know why she lost. What I do understand is her view of the journey. She tries to justify her deserving of the position she didn’t get. She whines and seems in shock. Ultimately, she talks about herself, and do we really need another book about Hillary?

Her chapters are long and rambling somewhat. I do notice when she talks about women she portrays them as strong, independent individuals. Most all. She may be doing this to try to present herself as a strong woman.

 In her chapter about her youth her dad is somewhat absent.

What Happened is more a justification for her than an explanation of why she fought so long and still came short of the prize. She spends a large portion on her political carrier, justifying her right to be president. She tends in portions to become a bore.

It has 464 pages and an index.

Published by Simon and Schuster.

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Understanding Trump by Newt Gingrich

With all the vitriol going on around Donald Trump we must ask ourselves, do we really know him enough to react with a clear mind or are we just responding emotionally to the liberal information that is being put forth?

In short, are we allowing facts to determine our reaction or the slanted news vomited out by the so-called news media?

Some will say the author of this book is also a person not to be trusted to be fair. But really? Come on. Use your intellect and realize freedom of speech means listening to both sides. It is freedom of speech not freedom from speech that is guaranteed in the Constitution.

If I sound slanted it is just that I feel to be fair, we must use our right to listen to both sides before drawing a conclusion. Trump is not aware of the game rules, but he seems to be a fast learner.

Books about Trump need to be written and read. He is a compassionate and caring person who is also brilliant and strong. Gingrich presents a person who is striving to do the best he can with what he has been elected to. He has an agenda which be contained in four boxes. He wants to make government work. He has a box for health. He has a box for American competiveness. Box four is keeping America safe.

We need to step back and read and use our brains. We should not let the false news be our only research avenue. False in the sense of putting opinion in the straight news articles as if it is the truth.

Trump’s venture as president so far has been a whirlwind of activity. It is unfortunate that we have plenty of information about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and not enough about Trump. But here we have a chance to rectify that.

Trump was not born in Trump towers but in a 2,000-square foot stucco house in Queens. He is someone who spent five years in a military prep school not some exclusive private high school. He was not allowed a silver spoon existence. He is more of an entrepreneur using knowledge as a tool to get things done. “He makes certain he knows what he needs to know to be successful at the time he needs to know it,” reports Gingrich.

This is how we learn things—by doing them. “Learning occurs when someone wants to learn, not when someone wants to teach” according to Roger Schank, a former professor of computer and cognitive sciences at Yale University, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

If you feel this is not so, read the book and come to your own conclusions. Learn to think for yourself.

Trump has proven to be a fast learner but a firm resister of being taught. A casual chat with him is the best way to impart instruction. He seems to be able to absorb information. He seems to test all that he absorbs as he integrates it and does something with it. He moves fast.

I would highly recommend this book for everyone. I would especially recommend it for those who are open minded enough to want to learn who we have in the White House and are brave enough to consider the Media is not telling us all.

It is 345 pages. It is published by Hachette Book and is $27.00 in the United States.