The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy ------------- 4 Stars

Like most, I've been aware of Tom Clancy for many years and have enjoyed a number of the movies based on his book. However, it wasn't until I just finished The Hunt for Red October (his most famous book?) that I can say I read one of his novels. This was his first book, the one that made him famous, and supposedly even got a presidential shout-out. That was enough to make me curious. 

The setup is fantastic: a Soviet submarine captain, might be defecting with the most advanced sub in their fleet. The Americans and the Soviets both scramble, and in the middle of it is Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who would go on to star in a whole series. It's a pretty simple set up but the book really does a nice job of slowly building tension and keeping the reader engaged.

The story absolutely has its strengths. Ramius is an interesting character, and Jack Ryan is a good “thinking man’s” hero who pieces things together without ever firing a gun. There are moments of real tension where you feel the weight of what’s at stake, and the chess match between navies can be fun to follow. I was also fascinated by just how patriotic this book ended up being. Not surprisingly as it was written mid Cold War, but wow, Clancy really makes you not like the Soviet Union while detailing all the advantages of America.

But this book is also a lot. Clancy is famous for technical detail, and wow, he really doesn’t hold back here. There are entire stretches that feel more like a submarine manual than a thriller, and while it’s impressive, it slowed me down. On top of that, there are way too many characters to keep track of. Every few chapters a new captain, commander, or analyst pops up, and it’s not always clear if they matter in the long run. I found myself thinking this was a 5 star book about a third of the way in and that number kept diminishing as I continued.

Overall, if you love military detail and don’t mind following a huge cast of characters, you’ll probably enjoy it. For me, it was more of a mixed bag, worth reading, but not the masterpiece some make it out to be. Still, this book deserves the credit, as I found it engaging for the vast majority of the read. It’s smart, suspenseful, and very much of its time, and I can see why it made such a splash when it came out. 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot ----------------- 3 Stars

To be candid, I really struggled with what ranking to give this book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The ranking system is predicated on how engaging a book is to me personally. And, while I found this book engaging in many ways, I also found it a painful book to get through which often made me not want to pick it up. Yet, I am so happy to have learned about Henrietta Lacks, her family, and her importance in medical history.

While I clearly am a bit late to it, it's always great to learn about something new. As this book was a NY Times Bestseller over ten years ago, and a feature movie was made about it, clearly it was beloved by many audiences. And, for good reason; it's simply one of the most stunning and unbelievable stories in American medical history. Like nearly everyone, learning about Henrietta Lacks' life was new to me. While I knew the book was popular and had something to do with science and cells, I really had no clue about her impact on so many lives. She truly changed the world for the better.

The book is a captivating read, and the author does a nice job of weaving together both the history and science related to Henrietta Lacks while also presenting a biographical sketch of her and her family. When I picked up the book, I really had no idea how much detail would be included about her family and future generation of Lacks'. The journey, hardships, and experiences of her life and life of her ancestors truly made it so there were parts of the book I couldn't put down.

Unfortunately, I found so many parts of the story so difficult and painful to get through, especially in the final parts of the book. Not surprisingly, being an African American woman in the first half of the 20th century in the southern US was a difficult experience. In addition, much of her family and relatives also suffered a variety of struggles that made many of their lives quite difficult. And like many less privileged groups, so much of their pain and struggle were caused by inequitable and racist systems and people that exist.

As I said, I am so happy I heard about, read, and learned about Henrietta Lacks. If you don't know her story, please take the time to read the book, or at a minimum, learn about her and her importance in American (and world) history. The book truly is fascinating and captivating. However, I often turn to reading to escape some of the pain that exists in our current world. This book made me feel more of it. The way Henrietta, her family, and so many others were treated (and continue to be treated unfairly) is both a useful reminder of the difficult history of country. The irony that a person (and those like her) was treated so poorly but ended up helping the world as much as she did is not lost on me!