Scranton Library: Chris's Top Five Books For February

Press release from E.C. Scranton Memorial Library:

Sunnie Scarpa

January 28, 2022

Five great recommendations from staff member Christopher Jennings Penders. Click on a title to place a hold!

Seeing as February is Presidents Month with Presidents Day on the calendar, I’ve decided to give “President” books a shout-out!

Write it When I’m GoneThomas DeFrank

An excellent read for anyone who grew up during the Watergate era as this book brings up some humorous memories of President Ford’s time in office as well as some of the more serious tones of the era. One of my favorite things about reading history during which I grew up is being able to say:“Yeah, I remember that.”

Write it When I’m Gone was just all-out fun because I was able to identify with the time period discussed in the book. I think it is also a valuable piece of literature for those who didn’t grow up during the time as readers can glimpse what was happening during the Watergate era and beyond.

FDR’s Deadly SecretEric Fettmann and Steven Lomazow

The scar above FDR’s eye, the authors suggest, may well have been a form of skin cancer and THAT may well have been the ultimate cause of his death. You should read this book and decide whether the theory holds any water for you. While I read the book I somewhat came around to the authors’ point of view as they laid out many interesting facts that pointed to the validity of their theory.

JFK and the UnspeakableJames W. Douglass

Fred R, one of Scranton Library’s regular members who is also in one of the book clubs the library gets books for, recommended JFK and the Unspeakable to me. What a book! One of the reasons I connect with the book is that Thomas Merton, someone I also have a deep connection with, parallels the story presented.

Another theory as to why JFK was assassinated:President Kennedy, during his short time as President, made a slow but determined shift to seek peace in the world. This angered the military, his Joint Chiefs, and others in his administration.  The anger finally boiled over into the planning and carrying out of JFK’s assassination.

Many facts are in here to back up the author’s theory. Easy to read and educational for me. Check it out.

And now to come full circle with Bob Woodward’s perhaps final story about that time in the volatile 1970s: The Last of the President’s Men

Alexander Butterfield is the subject of Woodward’s book. What’s fascinating about Butterfield is that he’s the man who installed the secret taping in the Nixon White House, the very system that helped bring down the Nixon Presidency.

Before Butterfield became a Nixon confidant he was “stuck” in Australia. Wanting back in the game, he gambled on contacting an old friend in Washington, D.C. who was part of the new Nixon Administration. Butterfield had known his friend Bob Haldeman for some time and he contacted Haldeman to inquire about any openings on the Nixon team. Initially, there was nothing available until Haldeman created a position for Butterfield.

That first month in the Nixon White House was anything but smooth for Butterfield as he came to realize how bizarre President Nixon behaved. But it didn’t take long for the two of them to develop a rapport. If you’re a Watergate aficionado, and you think you’ve seen it all and read it all, this book will close the final chapter in that history. Definitely worth the read.

Rawhide DownDel Quentin WilberOne of my favorite things about reading recent history books is knowing I lived through the time and am able to recognize the events. Rawhide Down is no different. Del Quentin Wilber does a fantastic job reconstructing the events leading up to and after the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. Wilber goes into great detail with John Hinckley’s planned trip to DC. This was one finely written and meticulously researched book for anyone interested in knowing what happened during and immediately following the assassination attempt.  

This press release was produced by E.C. Scranton Memorial Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.