From Rita Gross Author: Ben Mezrich Sex on the Moon This is the story of the theft of moon rocks from the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center laboratories, by an intern in the NASA Coop program. Thad Roberts served 100 months in prison for the crime. His capture and arrest was the result of a [...]
Archive for the ‘Rita’s Picks’ Category
Sex on the Moon
Posted in Nonfiction, Rita's Picks, tagged Apollo, interns, moon, NASA, scientists, Texas on March 30, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Big Short: inside the doomsday machine
Posted in Nonfiction, Rita's Picks, tagged crash, derivative markets, finance, government bailout, real estate bubble, recession, stock market, sub-prime mortgages on February 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Lewis, Michael The Big Short: inside the doomsday machine This book sheds light on the 2007-2008 crash of the real estate markets which resulted in our ongoing financial crisis. The author explains the development of the arcane derivative bonds whose collapse fueled the “great recession.” He exposes the complicity of the [...]
Ape House
Posted in Fiction, Rita's Picks, tagged American Sign Language, animal cruelty, animal rights, apes, bonobos, journalism, linguistics, Reality TV on January 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Gruen, Sara Ape House Humans share 99.4 % of our DNA with bonobo apes. In this novel, by the author of Water for Elephants, we are introduced to a group of bonobos who are kidnapped from a linguistics laboratory where they are learning English and ASL. They are then put into [...]
The Lonely Polygamist
Posted in Fiction, Rita's Picks, tagged dysfunctional family, marriage, mid-life crisis, plural marriage, polygamy on January 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Udall, Brady The Lonely Polygamist Golden Richards has four wives, twenty eight children, three homes, a failing business and a major mid-life crisis. Just multiply the entanglements of the usual American family novel by the power of four (at least), and you will have the depths of the problems that Golden [...]
Hitler’s holy relics : a true story of Nazi plunder and the race to recover the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire
Posted in Nonfiction, Rita's Picks, tagged history, Hitler, Holy Roman Empire, Nazis, plots, plunder, relics, treasure hunting, war on November 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Kirkpatrick, Sidney D. Hitler’s holy relics : a true story of Nazi plunder and the race to recover the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire At the end of the war, Lt. Walter Horn is charged with investigating the disappearance of the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, and [...]
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
Posted in Historical Fiction, Rita's Picks, tagged 19th Century, Dejima, Dutch East India Company, Japan on October 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Mitchell, David The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet Jacob De Zoet, to prove himself worthy of his wealthy fiancé, travels to Japan to make his fortune. In the final years of the 18th century Japanese trade is closed to all but the Dutch East India Company. To complicate matters, Jacob [...]
Homer & Langley
Posted in Fiction, Rita's Picks, tagged Collyer brothers, hippies, Hoarders, NYC, recluses, WWI on August 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Doctorow, E. L. Homer & Langley Homer & Langley is a fictionalized account of the lives of two reclusive brothers who lived and died in their brownstone home in NYC. They are found buried under tons of old newspapers in their booby trapped house. The societal changes taking place around them [...]
The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates
Posted in biography, Nonfiction, Rita's Picks, tagged African-Americans, Baltimore, Coming of Age, Drugs, Military School, Prisoners, Rhodes Scholars, Teenagers on July 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Moore, Wes The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates The author was born in Baltimore, just blocks away from another young man with the same name. They share many of the same experiences and life situations, growing up without fathers in a time of rampant drug violence. The author became [...]
Conspirata : a novel of ancient Rome
Posted in books, Historical Fiction, Rita's Picks, tagged Ancient Rome, Cicero, Intrigue, Political Intrigue, Politics, Roman Republic, Rome, Treachery on June 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
From Rita Gross author: Harris, Robert Conspirata : a novel of ancient Rome This is the second installment of a trilogy about the last days of the Roman Republic. Imperium, the first volume, depicts Cicero’s rise to power in the Senate. Conspirata picks up the story as Cicero is serving his term as Consul. Both [...]
