The Great American Railroad War

Dennis Drabelle - Building of the Central Pacific RR part of the Trans-Continental RR and all the goings on with it - the financing, the bad construction, the onerous rates and methods of control of the politics involved in CA and the Congress. The main four, the robber barons, are highlighted, esp Collis Huntington who was the DC man pouring money in bribes of the Congress to get the loans and grants for the work. Big focus on the loans and the 30 year term of no interest or principle payment with a balloon due in 1896 or so. As time approached, a big effort to absolve the loan and then to push payment out for 85 years at 2% interest. Next segment gets into newspapers of Hearst and their battle to defeat that Funding Bill led by Ambrose Bierce with scathing articles exposing the lies and misleading testimony of Huntington. Ultimately defeated. Part Three follows Frank Norris, novelist, and his development and writing of The Octopus, an exposé of the control the RR had on the state and devious rates and rules for traffic. Long and boring at times with stray diversions into background that doesn't seem relevant. Interesting about the four Robber Barons: Stanford, of University fame - founded by his wife after he died, Mark Hopkins, as in hotel, Crocker, possibly the bank but nothing mentioned, and Huntington, of our State Park fame - from an estate developed by a niece and donated to the state, not from Collis who used his takings for fancy mansions.

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die

Colin Cotterill - Dr Siri mystery set in Laos, 1978. Another low key and quiet tale of the culture of Loas during the difficult times of the Pathet Lao and aftermath of French rule.some insight into the spiritual beliefs with spirits and ghosts. Boat races, recovering old treasure.

Waking the Giant

Bill Miller - survey of the interaction between climate and earth structure. How changing overall temps affect volcanos, earthquakes, land slides. Significance of glaciers and their weight on earth crust. Also weight of water in ocean basins and big reservoirs.