WooReads Adult Patron Book Reviews: Nonfiction

It's that time for another round of patron book reviews from WooReads: Adult Reading Challenge (Beyond Summer). This week we bring you a variety of nonfiction book reviews with a little something for everyone. Enjoy and don't forget to log your books and share your book reviews on WooReads!

The Not Good Enough Mother

By Sharon Lamb

The author is a forensic psychologist who conducts parenting evaluations for court cases where children are in foster care and a decision is pending on whether the parents are able to regain custody. The situations are very thought-provoking and we gain an excellent understanding of the many ways in which a parent can be "good enough" or not. These cases are never black & white, and Sharon's descriptions provide the intricacies that she navigates each time. As a parallel story she is questioning her own parenting because one of her grown sons became an addict, and then a parent himself, a situation she has
                                                        encountered so many times in her work.

                                                       ~Linda J.

Barnum: an American Life

By Robert Wilson

P.T. Barnum was a man of his times, practical joker, showman, museum owner, circus owner , real estate developer, business man, politician, and so much more. In this entertaining biography, Robert Wilson shows how Barnum's ideas and views changed over time, from the brash hoaxer (who may have owned the African-American slave that he showed at his museum as nurse maid to George Washington) to a temperance proselytizer and abolitionist who emphasized the educational aspects of his shows (while still making a profit). This book is an interesting take on a man usually seen as a flamboyant huckster.

Biography

~Mary R. 

Unbroken: an Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive

By Laura Hillenbrand

A WWII nonfiction book. It was one mans life, from a wild child to an an Olympic star. WWII starts, he joins. He becomes an airman, shot down. He and others that survive drift in a raft for days. Fighting sharks, trying to survive. Find land, become POW. The treatment was so terrible it was hard to read. We THANK more than ever our brave soldiers.

~Karen S.

The Stranger in the Woods: the Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit

By Michael Finkel

This was a story I was interested in, and there were some interesting tidbits, but I felt it dragged on a little too much to keep my interest. I was happy to have an update at the conclusion, seeing as it was a true story.

~Linnea S.

Lost Cat: a True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology

By Caroline Paul, Wendy MacNaughton

A heartwarming story with the cutest illustrations. It is a quick enjoyable read.

~Janet B.