Memories before and After The Sound of Music, by Agathe von Trapp

Posted on October 27, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I had loved the movie The Sound of Music and had heard that the actual story of the von Trapp family, their escape from Austria was very different from the movie. I wanted to know the real story of the family and their lives before and after The Sound of Music.

Summary in 4 sentences: The book is written in the first person from the perspective of Agathe von Trapp the eldest daughter of the von Trapp family and she begins with the story of her parents, their families and the world of the von Trapp family in the Austro-Hungary empire prior to and during WW1. After Austria-Hungary loses the war, she describes how the family survives difficult times, and just as things are coming together for them, the Nazis invade Austria and when Capt von Trapp refuses to serve in the Nazi Navy, he knows he is marked as an enemy of the Third Reich, and he and his family are vulnerable to being sent to the concentration camps. They escaped to America, made a reputation for themselves as a singing family, established a home, eventually a lodge in Vermont, and the book describes their touring to much acclaim all over America and the world throughout the forties, fifties and into the sixties. When the movie is released in 1965, the von Trapp family singers were nearing the end of their touring, many were engaged with the lodge they’d built, or had moved on with their lives, and the author describes their lives after the movie.

My Impressions: This is an autobiography of the von Trapp family from the perspective of the oldest daughter who lived through WW1 and into the 21st century, having written this book in 2003. She wanted to set the record straight regarding her family, what they had experienced in Austria and later in America, given that so much attention was given to them after the release of The Sound of Music in the mid 60s. She initially hated the movie as it distorted the character of her father, presenting in the movie him as a gruff, distant and strict patriarch, whereas she insisted that he was warm, personable and easy going in real life. The movie also took a lot many liberties with the facts of their lives in Austria and their escape from the Nazis. She wanted to set the record straight. Later, she came to appreciate the movie after she saw how much the movie’s popularity helped her family with publicity for their singing and their lodge in Vermont.

The book is a fascinating look at the world of an Austrian aristocratic family at the beginning of the 20th century and how the two world wars upset the social order they had inherited from the 19th century. Prior to the WW1, the von Trapp family had been part of the upper classes but after the war, they were forced from their home in what had been Austria, but which became Italy after the war. Agathe describes how they struggled and adapted to a new world order, as the European economies collapsed, life was hard especially for the defeated nations, and then their mother died. They weren’t destitute but Papa struggled to find work to make ends meet, and for the first time, they worried about money and depended on relatives, as their family of 7 children had slid down the social ladder as former aristocrats to essentially middle class status.

When their mother died, the older children had to step in and take care of the younger ones until their father who was working, hired as a nanny a nun who’d been a bit overly independent and troublesome in a local monastery. After a while, he asked the children if they liked her and would they like to have her as a new Mother. They did and they were married. She was 22 and he was 49. That part of the Sound of Music was accurate. She stepped into their home, took charge and created order out of chaos and began organizing the musical talents of the children. Papa had always played the violin and, as was the norm in upper class families of that era, all of the children had had music lessons. So Maria (who they called “Mother”) stepped into an already very musically inclined and talented family. She organized them and they began performing in public.

As noted in the summary above, after the “Anschluss” in 1938, when the Nazis took over Austria, the pleasant trajectory of the von Trapp family life, was again at risk. The family had already been performing and touring as singers beginning in the early thirties, and had been invited to tour in America, when Papa was made an “offer” he couldn’t refuse. He had had an exceptional reputation as a submarine commander for the Austrian Navy in WW1, but refused to serve in the German Navy. He then knew he didn’t have much time – they had to leave Austria and escape the Nazis before they – or at least he – would be put in a concentration camp.

So they accepted the offer to tour the US and at least for public consumption (to protect themselves from the Nazis) they left Austria to tour the US, but with bags packed not intending to return. But they left on a train, not singing and climbing over the Alps as was portrayed in the movie. They did in fact enjoy a very successful tour performing in the US, decided to stay there and were aided by patrons who supported their application to immigrate.

The remainder of the book is about how the family adapted to America – by continuing to tour, not just in the US but internationally. Eventually they decided to settle in Vermont on a farm which they built into a family-style hostel. That large home caught fire and burned down and was replaced by a larger Lodge which remains today in the family. Papa von Trapp passed away at age 67 in 1947, and Maria became the matriarch of the family until she passed away at age 82 in 1987. THe book concludes with Agathe sharing the various paths taken by members of the von Trapp family going their separate ways but staying engaged. The Trapp family lodge in Stowe Vermont continued to evolve and has stayed in the family. Agathe passed away in 2010 at age 97.

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The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Posted on October 22, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I’d read The Big Sleep by Chandler and was impressed. I was looking for another highly regarded book and page turner for my long flight to Europe.

Summary in 4 Sentences: Philip Marlowe (Chandler’s Private Eye) meets a guy who who needs help – he helps him, and then encounters him a few more times, they become familiar but not particularly close, and finally this fellow shows up at his door and mysteriously asks for a ride to the airport to fly to Mexico, and Marlowe obliges. Not long afterward, Marlowe is accused of being accessory to murderer – and Marlowe gets to deal with the police and justice system trying to frame him. Then this issue is left hanging as Marlowe gets involved in some additional seemingly unrelated sticky situations which in the end are indeed very related to the murder and the escape of his “friend” to Mexico, but it remains unclear how. And of course, Marlowe figures it all out while the authorities are left scratching their heads.

My Impressions: As was The Big Sleep, this is a fun and good read, though for much of it I really wasn’t sure what was going on. Marlowe is an appealing character – pretty much fits the mold of the hard-boiled private eye of the popular mystery-detective genre. The setting is LA in the early fifties and Chandler clearly enjoys pointing out the self-centered extravagances and eccentricities of the wealthy class who our humble hero Marlowe encounters – the beautiful women who manipulate men for their own ends, the wealthy weirdos who buy beautiful trophy wives and trophy houses to show off their wealth and success. How they then are able to manipulate the justice system to support their goals and extravagant lifestyles.

Marlowe’s meeting and discussion with Mr Potter in chapter 32 is precious. Mr Potter is a multi-multi-millionaire – which is really wealthy in 1952. It was his daughter that Marlowe’s “friend” was accused of murdering. When Marlowe questions the pat solution to the crime that the police, the DA and the press are reporting, Mr Potter summons Marlowe to a meeting to carefully warn him to back off, and in the process, tells Marlowe about how the world works:

“We live in a democracy, rule by the majority of the people. A fine ideal if it could be made to work. The people elect, but the party machines nominate, and the party machines, to be effective must spend a great deal of money. Somebody has to give it to them and that somebody, whether it be an individual, a financial group, a trade union or what have you, expects some consideration in return. What I and people of my kind expect is to be allowed to live our lives in decent privacy…There’s a peculiar thing about money…. In large quantities it tends to have a life of its own, even a conscience of its own. The power of money becomes very difficult to control. Man has always been a venal animal….The average man is tired and scared and a tired and scared man can’t afford ideals. He has to buy food for his family. …. (p 233-234)

There were a number of subplots, branches and sequels to this story and how Marlowe inadvertently got himself wrapped up in this very strange case. In the end the actual solution and surprise ending confused me, and I had to think about it and go on-line to help me sort out what Chandler (through Marlow) actually uncovered as the answer to who committed the crime, why and how – which included a couple more dead people.

Raymond Chandler was one of the original masters of the true detective crime novel genre. Chandler’s Philip Marlow was clearly a model for John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee who came along in the early 1960s. Marlowe, the world weary hard-boiled detective, worked in the Sin City environment of Hollywood and LA, whereas McGee was the easy-going society drop-out living on a house boat in Florida. But as characters, they had much in common and both appeal to me for their honesty, lack of personal ambition, insightful about people, each is compassionate but not a chump, favoring honor and principle over personal advantage and self aggrandizement.

The story was interesting though at times, hard to follow. Chandler’s commentary through his characters about the lives and eccentricities of the wealthy elites of LA is worth the read itself. If you like this genre and excellent writing, you’ll like this book.

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The Red Hot Typewriter – The Life and Times of John D. MacDonald by Hugh Merrill

Posted on October 21, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I’ve read several of MacDonald’s popular Travis McGee series and really liked them – and wanted to know more about the author whose views are expressed through his character McGee.

Summary in 4 Sentences: A relatively short biography of the popular mystery- detective novel writer beginning with his childhood and parental relationships to his early jobs as he tried out various options, went to college then joined the Army just prior to WW2. While serving with the OSS in the Burma-China-India theater, he sent s couple of short stories home to his wife, which unbeknownst to him, she submitted for publication, were accepted and received a check. Upon learning this after the war, he chose to become a writer rather than work for a large organization. Over the next 4 decades the biography recounts how he became initially a hack paperback detective novelist and how he who evolved into a highly respected mystery and suspense novelist and author well into the 1980s, authoring 22 Travis McGee novels as well as a number of other highly regarded non-serial novels, each with an iconoclastic message against mass and depersonalized culture.

My impressions. This is not a long nor detailed biography – only about 190 pages which outlines the highlights and key events and periods of MacDonalds life, concluding with a long interview with him, and a list of one scholar’s favorite MacDonald stand alone novels – NOT of the Travis McGee series.

I learned of John D. MacDonald from a podcast interview by Tim Ferriss with Mike Rowe – both of whom had loved JDM and had read most or all of the Travis McGee novels. So I gave him a try, and have since read a mere four of the more of the 22 in the series. I’ve talked to friends who have read all of the Travis McGee novels, some of them twice. After reading the last one, I realized how I really liked the views expressed through the character of Travis McGee – so I wanted to know more about the author. After looking him up and seeing that he had served with the OSS in Burma-China-India I was intrigued, so found and bought this book.

JDM was a man of his era – but more a writer and introverted author and less the easy going sail-boat-bum and risk taking adventurer of his character Travis McGee. I read somewhere that JDM built his Travis McGee character based on his ideal independent man of character and courage, who had the freedom to live his life without obligations to the ordinary constraints of modern urban living – such as a corporate job, a boss, a mortgage, a wife and family.

Where JDM’s and McGee’s characters converge are that they are both men of their times – each solidly “a man’s man” of the 1940 and 50s – proud, independent, each enjoyed their alcohol but didn’t get drunk, didn’t worry much about health or fitness – just depended on their natural fitness and health, ate and drank what they liked. They each respected and were attracted to women, but still with something of a 1940s/50s patronizing approach to them. They are both committed to honesty, moral courage, living their values and being fair and respectful to others – even toward those “bad guys” who McGee tracks down to bring to justice. But neither are saints – both prudent in applying their sense of morality to the practical needs of their clients and their own survival.

He was an extremely prolific writer publishing 78 books in his lifetime, and receiving numerous awards – the most prestigious being the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and the National Book Award for the Travis McGee novel The Green Ripper (wh I haven’t read yet – but will.)

The book gave insights into the subculture of mystery/crime writers, their relationships to publishers and editors – a very important relationship for writers who want to get paid to get their et their books printed, and to have them printed as they choose to write them – which involves the back-and-forth negotiations to change the plot, the title, the characters from what the author originally wrote. JDM had at least one of his original story lines “stolen” and used by another author in a different setting – JDM threatened to sue, but withdrew the suit when the perpetrator and his publisher agreed to take all the copies out of circulation and register a public apology.

JDM was very dedicated to his writing – churned out sometimes several books in just a few months, writing alone in his office regularly for 8 hours a day, putting his ideas for great stories and mysteries to print. He was devoted to Doros his wife of nearly 50 years and their son Maynard. At the end of their lives, both were in ill health at the end, until he died of cardiac issues at age 70 in 1986, and she died 2 years later.

I believe there are longer biographies of JDM available, but this one served me well – and I’d recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the Travis McGee series and would like to know more about the author. Also the brief summaries it offered at the end of his best “stand alone” novels (not Travis McGee) inspired me to read one or two of these highly regarded works – I’d lean toward beginning with Slam the Big Door.

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A History of Sardinia, by Franco Aquilina

Posted on October 16, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I was getting ready to travle to Sardinia for a cultural and hiking trip and had heard this was an excellent short summary of the key events and issues in the history and current situation in Sardinia

Summary in 3 Sentences: The book is written in chronological order, briefly covers the little known very early pre-history but begins largely with the Nuragic Age going back 4 thousand years ago. It then walks us through the complicated and multiple stages of Sardinian history when the island was conquered many times by multiple European entities, to include the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals in the middle ages, Spanish, Genoese, French, and finally the Italian’s. It concludes with the more recent years under Italian rule and concludes with the political, cultural, environmental challenges Sardinia is dealing with in the 21st century.

My Impressions: A great concise history of Sardinia, from the stone age to the 21st century. Only 143 pages, with short chapters, all of us who went to Sardinia and read this book swear by it as, not only a concise but also an educated overview of key elements in the history of Sardinia.

A few things I didn’t know before, but that I learned from this book.

  • The Phoenicians were based in the Eastern Mediterranean what is now Turkey and Lebanon area, and were primarily traders with good trading relations with cultures and peoples throughout the Mediterranean including those in Sardinia. They had people living in Cagliari to facilitate trading.
  • Carthage was originally a Phoenician settlement in North Africa which rebelled and essentially took over the Phoenician empire. Whereas the Phoenicians were a trading culture, Carthage was imperialist and conquered and ruled Sardinia for several centuries, but were replaced by the Romans when the Romans defeated Carthage in the Punic wars. The Romans ruled Sardinia as a colony and breadbasket for several centuries.
  • After the Roman empire fell, the ships from the Vandals from northern Europe pillaged coastal towns in the Mediterranean with impunity, including and especially Sardinia, forcing many settlements on the coast to move inland where they would be less vulnerable.
  • Genoa and Pisa in what is now Italy had a long standing rivalry and control of Sardinia was a key point of contention.
  • The Sardinian brigade was the most effective and courageous of the Italian forces fighting the Austrians in Northern Italy in WW1.
  • Though there were no allied ground forces or ground battles on Sardinia in WW2, Cagliari was bombed nearly to rubble by the allies as part of the Operation Mincemeat the remarkably successful deception plan to make the Axis believe they would be launching their assault on Italy and Southern Europe by landing in Sardinia, rather than Sicily where indeed they did land.
  • Malaria was a huge problem in Sardinia for centuries until after WW2, when extensive use of DDT and draining of swampland virtually (but not completely) eliminated the Anopheles mosquito population in Sardinia.
  • Tourism has brought in much wealth and employment to Sardinia but also created a number of environmental concerns and other challenges. There is a strong movement in Sardinia to protect and preserve the natural environment, while also supporting sustainable tourism

Below is the table of contents which gives you an idea of the structure of the book. If you are interested in Sardinia, and may be planning a visit ( which I highly recommend) then this book is a must read.

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Living in a Mindful Universe by Eben Alexander

Posted on September 22, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I had recently read Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven and was impressed. I’m exploring ideas in this alternate/expanded view of reality and I was/am interested in following Alexander’s journey since his NDE and learning form his insights.

Summary in 3 Sentences: This is a follow up to Proof of Heaven in which he shares insights from his experience in the six years after publishing his highly successful and widely read Proof of Heaven. The first five chapters address possible scientific explanations for his experience and addresses the arguments from the skeptics who claim that the alternate reality he describes in his Near Death Experience (NDE) could not exist. In the following eleven chapters he explains the many implications of of his experience of this alternate reality, and his and his co-author Karen Newell’s experiences teaching, lecturing, and facilitating others in understanding and even having their own experiences.

My Impressions: This is a good book for someone who, though skeptical and uncertain, is willing to accept the possibility that Eben Alexander truly experienced something “real” in the NDE he wrote about in Proof of Heaven. At least initially in the book, he tries to remain detached and objective, and speaks to those of a more practical and skeptical mindset, anticipating their questions and objections (he’s heard them all) and providing responses and explanations. He notes that readers who are primarily interested in or lean to the more objective and scientific perspective on NDE’s will find the first five chapters most instructive. These chapters have titles like “A Hard Problem Indeed,” “Science Meets Spirituality,” “Moving beyond Materialist Science,” “The Primordial Mind Hypothesis” But he warns us that those who may not be interested in examining how different theories of quantum physics, time, and epistemology apply to the issue of NDEs and the “paranormal,” may want to skip these early chapters and go on to chapters six through sixteen. These chapters will be of greatest interst to those who generally accept that his and other NDE’s and other demonstrated paranormal experiences indeed point to a greater reality. I found the first five chapters enlightening, even if I didn’t fully understand all of the physics and quantum theory they described.

In the second section of the book (chapters 6-16) Alexander and his co-author Karen Newell relax and are clearly in their element. He reinforces the point he made in Proof of Heaven that the mind is not the brain. He reminds us that his brain was “out of commission” during his NDE while his mind had an incredible, “transcendent” experience. The mind he points out, has qualities and characteristics that are not tied to the limitations of the biological brain. Alexander and Newell explore what these powers and capabilities are, with examples from their own lives and their work with others.

The second section begins with the premise that the reader accepts the possibility of the existence of a greater, non-materialist reality, and includes chapters with the following titles: “The Power of Prayer,” “The Practice of Going Within,” “Riding the Wave of Consciousness,” “Be the Love that you are,” “The Answers Lie Within Us All,” and “Mind over Matter.” If it sounds pretty woo-woo, it is, AND it is well done and credible.

They note that in our daily vernacular we speak of “love” in many guises and contexts and with many meanings. But one of the most important insights Alexander had in his NDE, and which common to many others who’ve had NDE’s, is that “LOVE” is not “merely” an emotion, but “unconditional love” and the interconnectedness of all beings are fundamental to the reality of the universe. They note that the experience of such unconditional love and interconnectedness was THE overwhelming insight in Alexander’s NDE, and in so many (nearly all) other NDE’s, as well as in the mystical experiences of sages and saints throughout history.

They provide evidence to support their belief that all our minds are part of an interconnected collective mind, what they refer to as “non-local consciousness,” which is similar to what Carl Jung called the “collective unconsciousness,” and that for each individual, their mind is restricted by the limitations of the biological brain. They offer extensive evidence that the mind has powers and insights that are separate from and not often realized by the physical brain. They provide guidance for how we can access this “collective mind” in ourselves, through meditation and quieting the brain’s preoccupation with worldly concerns. You don’t have to have an NDE or a mystical “road to Damascus” experience to access the power and interconnection that each of our minds possess.

If one accepts that the mind exists separate from the brain, that helps explain many paranormal phenomena that otherwise run counter to our materialist view of the world. They explore how telepathy, reincarnation, remote viewing, miracle healing, and other such phenomena can be explained by this understanding of the non-local consciousness, and that the mind as a separate entity is connected to a larger reality. A materialist view of the world can’t explain and often ignores these paranormal phenomena. Rather than accept that materialism may be incomplete and that these phenomena could be indicative of a mystery worth considering, true believers in scientific materialism choose to look the other way.

This is a great book for anyone who is intrigued by NDE’s, and by Alexander’s NDE in particular, and is open to looking at a scientist’s perspective on the broader implications of NDE’s and paranormal phenomena. Since that describes me, I found the book very enlightening – it covers ALOT of territory in 246 pages, and I’ll be reviewing it again soon.

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The Quick Red Fox, by John D. MacDonald

Posted on September 19, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I was ready for another Travis McGee novel – as a break from more “serious” reading. I like the author’s style and the character McGee and the other characters in his books.

Summary in 3 Sentences: A very famous movie actress has been blackmailed and continues to get blackmail threats based on indiscrete pictures taken at a sexually uninhibited party, and McGee is requested to find out how this happened, who is doing the blackmail and to stop it. It is an awkward process in part because McGee doesn’t care for the actress who has hired him, and because he does begin to care for the actresses executive assistant who is tasked with helping him. As usual, it becomes a fairly complicated story as McGee finds himself wandering into some of society’s less respectable and more pretentious sub-cultures, and as usual, finds that the culprits are not who he expected.

My Impressions: As usual, a fun and engaging read. If you like MacDonald’s Travis McGee series this is a good one. It is one of his earlier novels, published in 1964 – and I’ve found I’m a bit partial to his earlier novels – that more reflect the culture of America in the 50s early 60s when I was growong up.

McGee’s main client in this novel is a Hollywood super star sex-symbol actress – Lysa Dean – representing perhaps Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, or Elizabeth Taylor from that era. When McGee meets Ms Dean to work out the details of his contract with her, she throws her charm and beauty at him and McGee resists. At that initial meeting we see McGee expressing MacDonald’s disdain for the culture of the super rich Hollywood stars and McGee doesn’t allow himself to be manipulated by the starlet’s sexual appeal and charisma. That he keeps his distance from her and doesn’t respond to her flirtations, of course intrigues her and she subtly sees him as a challenge.

The story requires McGee to peek into and explore some of what surrounds the sexual licentiousness of that libertine, pleasure seeking subculture in Southern California, how it draws in and seduces young and old libertines, and self-centered pleasure seekers from all classes. Such a group will naturally include some who see a chance for exploiting their access to the star, and so blackmail her with pictures of her “inflagrante.”

To assist McGee with his task of unravelling the mystery of who took the pictures and how, stopping the blackmail, the starlet Lysa Dean loans McGee her very efficient, and impersonal executive assistant Dana Holzer to help him with investigation. Initially Holzer is distant, responsible and unaffected – almost computer-like. The relationship between McGee and Holzer slowly takes center stage in the story, as his honesty, intelligence and competence, and his caring and respectful treatment of her break down Holzer’s cold and distant demeanor. They eventually develop a trusting and intimate relationship, as the mystery of the blackmail unfolds and uncovers violence and other sordid aspects.

After having recently read Frank Sinatra’s long-form biography, and the insights it gave of the uninhibited and licentious life-style and culture of wealthy Hollywood celebrities of that era, I appreciated how MacDonald (through McGee) responded to it – with a bit of detached prurient interest, but also disgust. I also enjoyed his comments and insights about “love” – and how sexual intimacy is enhanced, in fact only of worthwhile, when accompanied by affection, respect, and love, and how his experience has taught him that sex without at least affection and respect is very hollow, often not worth the trouble, and frequently can lead to trouble.

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AFTER – A Doctor Explores What Near Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, by Bruce Greyson MD

Posted on September 12, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I had just read Proof of Heaven and asked my friend John Alexander who is very well read in this arena, some questions about other research regarding Near Death Experiences around the world, and he recommended this book.

Summary in 4 Sentences: Bruce Greyson is a psychiatrist who often got called in to talk to people who’d survived suicide attempts, and in one case the patient was comatose on a gurney, yet when she revived, she described to him what he’d been doing in another room while she was unconscious, telling him what he’d done and said and that she’d observed it all. Greyson being a scientifically trained doctor was confused, decided to look into this phenomenon and spent the next 40 years interviewing over 1000 people who’d had Near Death Experiences (NDE) looking for patterns and anything that would give scientific rigor to his investigations into these bizarre experiences. The book describes a multitude and variety of NDE’s, various efforts to test and explain them, and lays out how most are similar, how and perhaps why some diverge, and the impact they have had on those who have them. He concludes with a summary of his findings over the years.

My Impressions: I was impressed by the stories he told of the many fascinating NDE’s that had been related to him in his research, but also by his skepticism – his examination of the obvious question -“Could there be other explanations?” As a psychiatrist with a strong tie to and belief in evidentiary science, he makes every effort to remain impartial and to to explore these phenomena from a scientific perspective. In order to give some structure and legitimacy to his explorations, he created a matrix that I understand is still used, to evaluate NDE’s that are reported and described. This matrix helps him and other researchers compare NDE’s for their similarities, differences, andn to better understand whether and how some of what the patient reports might relate to their conscious lives.

Early in his career and after his initial incongruous experience with the woman in a coma, as a psychiatrist he was often called upon to meet and help people who had had traumatic “near death” experiences, to include failed suicide attempts. This at least in part because these people were often believed to be hallucinating or mentally “challenged” and also because eventually he became well known as a researcher in such hallucinations or bizarre experiences while in a life threatening coma. He eventually realized that bizarre out-of-body experiences were not uncommon. As he began exploring these phenomena, he realized that to ignore the possible implications of such phenomena would be disingenuous and that it is unscientific to ignore phenomena or evidence that is counter to what one expects. So he chose to explore these phenomena and to consider the possible implications.

The book is a compendium of his interviews and explorations with people who’d had experiences that seem to defy what conventional thinking believes is possible. He selects the most interesting cases, and also provides comparisons – where such experiences have differed, where there are similiarities and what these differences and similarities might mean. He never reports as a true believer, but remains carefully skeptical, always looking at and considering various possible alternative explanations for what people tell him that they experienced. He notes that he has not had any such paranormal experiences himself, but after his questioning and interviews, absent any reason not to believe their stories, he accepts that indeed they had these experiences, they believe they were real, and that there was no intent to deceive. BUT he also acknowledges that their sense that the experiences denote alternate realities doesn’t necessarily mean there are indeed such alternate realities, or that such realities are legitimate for all. A challenge of the scientific methods is that it demands that results can be replicated, reliably, which is not the case with NDE’s, out-of-body experiences, precognition or other paranormal abilities. He is clearly moved, continues to explore stories he hears, but his goal is to explore and understand, not to proselytize.

The titles of some of his chapters: “Are Near Death Experiences Real?”, “the Biology of dying,” “The Mind is not the Brain,” “Does Consciousness continue, ” “What about God?” “What does it all mean” “Life before Death.”

I asked ChatGPT to recommend some books to me that as dispassionately as possible explore NDE’s and other such phenomena, and After was at the top of the list it gave me. If someone were to ask me to recommend a book on NDE’s, I’d recommend this one first, then perhaps Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven. But there are several out there that are well regarded that explore this phenomenon from various perspectives. Fascinating stuff – I’ll read more. Stay tuned….

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The Dreadful Lemon Sky, by John D. MacDonald

Posted on September 11, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book; I was looking for something “light” and fun to read, and I had enjoyed my previous two John D MacDonald-Travis McGee novels: A Purple Place for Dying and The Deep Blue Good-bye. I listened to Lemon Sky on audible.

Summary in 4 Sentences: Travis McGee, our laid back protagonist, gets a visit on his houseboat The Busted Flush from an old fling from 6 years ago who is in trouble and asks him to keep a LOT of cash for her (in exchange for a cut) but she won’t tell him anything about why or what trouble. But when he soon learns that she has been killed, by accident or suicide in a town up the coast in Florida, he feels there’s clearly something fishy going on. Before he gives the money to the young ladies sister, which is what she had demanded should anything happen to her, McGee and Meyer, his good friend (a sort of “Sancho Panza” to him) go to where she had lived, to try to uncover a bit of this mystery, and in the process, stumble onto a drug smuggling operation the lady had been involved in, and which involved a wide net, to include local political and other prominent figures. As he continues to pull the string, he stumbles upon several murders, is almost killed himself, and as he and Meyer put the pieces of the puzzle together, McGee himself had to decide how to handle a romance that he also stumbled into in the process.

My impressions: Travis McGee is an unemployed, easy going sailor who lives on a well appointed boat he’d won in a poker game, who works only when he needs money. This, like the other two John D. MacDonald novels I’ve read, has McGee minding his own business, doing whatever feels good and right, when out of the blue, a person shows up needing some help.

The other two novels were written in the late 1950s/early 1960s -this one 10 years later, so the context of South Florida had changed, in the aftermath of the turbulence of the 1960s. We see more itinerant youth, marijuana is widely used, cocaine is out there, but a more serious drug and doesn’t play a significant role in this novel.

Travis McGee is an appealing character as a laid back, mature man living in Southern Florida. Like MacDonald himself, McGee is a WW2 vet who’s seen and experienced evil, doesn’t like it but is not afraid of it. He isn’t greedy for money, treats women with respect, but is not immune to their charms and has a red-blooded appreciation for an intimate session with a beautiful woman, but doesn’t chase it and won’t compromise his values for it. Kind of like his attitude toward money.

He is also practical, sensible, and principled – willing to take risks for the right thing. He will confront liars, hypocrites and those he suspects are up to no good for their own perceived gain – and will come to the aid and assistance of victims of such bad guys – which he does in this short novel.

What I enjoy about McGee in this and in the previous Travis McGee novels, is that the MacDonald has him regularly digress and share his views on a variety of topics, and MacDonald uses him as a mouthpiece to share his world view with some very interesting and insightful comments on life, people, nature, the world, philosophy and more. MacDonald had lived through the depression, had degrees from Syracuse and Harvard, served with the OSS in the China-Burma-India theater in WW2, reaching the rank of LtCol, and after the war, he chose to become a writer. Through Travis McGee, he shares with us opinions, insights and prejudices, and some golden nuggets of wisdom, some serious, some clever and a bit cynical, especially about middle class consumerism, corporate greed, hypocrisy, and more. MacDonald, through McGee, is clearly a well educated and thoughtful man, and it is enjoyable to hear his views in McGee’s voice in the context of McGee’s adventures and misadventures.

I had read the previous two books – but in the audible version, I didn’t particularly care for the voice of the reader – Robert Petkoff. In my opinion, he made McGee sound a bit too much like a 1940s “tough guy” while I had imagined McGee as more of a tough guy with a deceptively mild mannered, easy going, nice guy demeanor. I checked and learned that after MacDonald died, which was before “books on tape” or audible versions became “a thing,” Petkoff had been selected by MacDonald’s estate to read all of the Travis McGee novels for audible.

Bottom line: This is the Travis McGee I got to know and enjoy in the previous two novels I had read. This time he’s having a different adventure in a different context. I enjoyed the writing and will again enjoy a book in this series as an escape from “heavier” fare, when I’m looking for well-educated, buy relatively light entertainment. Kind of like I enjoy watching the old Law and Order episodes on TV.

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Sinatra – The Chairman, by James Kaplan

Posted on September 8, 2026 by schoultz
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Why this book: This is volume two of James Kaplan’s authoritative biography of Frank Sinatra – following Sintatra – The Voice, which I thought was well done (my review of it here.) . I listened to this one as well. It was longer and addressed his most productive years, when he was at the apogee of his popularity.

Summary in 3 (long) Sentences: This volume begins in 1953 – a major turning point in Sinatra’s life when his marriage to Ava Gardner begins to unravel as he wins an academy award for his surprise outstanding performance in the movie From Here to Eternity, just when Hollywood and the public believed he had been a flash in the pan, was washed up, and his career was essentially over. Afterward he went on to record some of the most highly regarded popular music of the 20th century, and he had roles in a number of follow on movies, most of them mediocre, but his fame and influence continued to rise – as he became one of the A list stars in Hollywood. This book recounts the roller-coaster of Sinatra’s life from the early 50’s until his death in 1998 – his marriages to Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow, and finally Barbara Marx, his relationship with his children by his first wife Nancy, his multitude of love affairs with the most beautiful women in Hollywood, his involvement with the Kennedy’s and later more conservative politicians, his charisma, charm, and emotional instability, how he adapted his music to changing public tastes in the late 50s, the 60s and 70s – as he held on to the spotlight into his later years – the many high points and low points of his remarkable life.

My Impressions: A remarkable book – a tour de force look at one of the most famous men in the world for much of the middle of the 20th century. Kaplan did an amazing amount of research, interviewing or reading the autobiographies of many of the people who were instrumental figures in his life – to include a thorough look at what the tabloids and gossip columnists were saying as they drooled over the chaos and drama of his life. I was truly impressed with James Kaplan’s research and writing – he gave full credit to the talent and so much that Sinatra did which deserved admiration, but also did not pull any punches when describing his foolish, immature, and sometimes violent actions inspired by anger, disappointment or simply spite. He was often an entitled hyper-sensitive narcissist, but was also a charming generous man of great talent. As many who know him said, Sinatra was a complicated man.

I listened to the book, and thought the reader Donald Corren did an excellent job reading Kaplan’s script – his voice sounded authentic and authoritative and fit the subject matter well. I have recently listened to good books which were significantly diminished by the voice of the reader not being a good fit for the text. That is not the case here.

There was so much to this long book nearly 1000 pages and 40 hours to listen to. He lived to be 83 years old, dying in 1998 after being married 4 times. His first wife Nancy was the mother of his two daughters and one son, and though his character was not suited to monogamy and family life, he remained close to that family throughout his life and by most accounts contiuned to be a friend and provider to Nancy and caring father to his children. His tempestuous marriage to Ava Gardner was fodder for the tabloids for years – they were married for several years, but in my and the author Kaplan’s opinions, were too much alike to be happy together – they fought all the time, and made up in the bedroom. The passion between these two makes up much of the book and continued throughout their lives, to include long after their divorce. Following Ava was the very controversial and short-lived marriage to Mia Farrow, and finally his marriage to Barbara Marx for the last 22 years of his life.

The following is a list of some/many of the famous starlets and women that is it was well known that Sinatra had romantic/sexual affairs with, all pretty well documented in the book, with Ava Gardner being at the top of the list. Additionally: Lauren Bacall (Briefly engaged,) Angie Dickinson, Lana Turner, Juliette Prowse (briefly engaged,) Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Kim Novak, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Maxwell, Gloria Vanderbilt. Sinatra’s unlikely marriage to Mia Farrow, when he was 50 and she was 21 shocked much of the world, and didn’t last long. These are women he saw not just sexually but also saw romantically whose company he enjoyed, but he was not willing to extend them to marriage.

Frank had no problem finding beautiful women to have sex with – his valet George Jacobs and his good friend and song writer-musician Jimmy Van Heusen were nearly always in his entourage and seemed to knew all the “procurers” in the cities to which Frank traveled. When Frank travelled and wanted female company, they would find, beautiful women, often several at a time, to keep Frank company and share his bed at night.

In addition to all of these salacious stories, Kaplan gives great insights into Sinatra’s relationship over many years to key figures in the Mafia – “the mob.” It began in his early years in Hoboken, New Jersey, and when Frank became famous he was something of mascot to the Mafia. Frank did use his relationship and credibility with them as a fellow Italian-American to help his career, while also trying to keep them at arm’s length, as his relationships with well known mob figures were hurting his reputation. Kaplan seeks to explore the truths, and separate fact from fiction regarding the many rumors.

A big part of Sinatra’s complex personality was that his insecure and entitled ego had an arrogant and even violent side. There are many instances recorded in the book where Sinatra flew off the handle, went crazily aggressive in response to a percieved slight, or not getting what he wanted, often, but not always when he had been drinking. When he’d been drinking, these episodes were worse- several times getting the attention of the law. I was stunned and embarrassed by some of the incidents I read about that were so inconsistent with the charm and generosity he also often demonstrated. He admitted to being manic-depressive. Perhaps he was even bi-polar. His jealous, insecure ego and his inability to ignore criticism or insult was clearly a part of why he struggled to develop intimacy with anyone.

Frank was a well known advocate for the underprivileged, the poor, and for those who suffered from discrimination as he had in his youth. He never forgot his experience of anti-Italian discrimination early in his career and later, and so actively and publicly supported causes that fought racial/ethnic discrimination against blacks, jews, Hispanics, and others, as well as Italians. In the late fifties and sixties, he became enamored of John Kennedy and the Democratic party’s promise to fight and end such discrimination. He campaigned actively for JFK, and arguably his efforts were key to his narrow victory in 1960 over Richard Nixon. Frank’s infatuation with the power and romance of the Kennedy’s was greatly diminished when, after the election, he experienced the hypocrisy of JFK and the Kennedy clan when they distanced themselves from him due to his close relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. And again later, when Bobby Kennedy came after him because of his cozy relationship to the Mafia. Frank eventually moved right politically and endorsed and supported Ronald Reagan.

The final third of the book deals with Frank’s life and career from the late seventies until his death in 1998. He remained in the news and a very popular figure on TV and Hollywood into the 70s and early 80s, and continued to travel, perform and produce great music. However, after the public and personal drama of his ill conceived and unsuccessful marriage to Mia Farrow, his romantic life became of less interest to the public and the gossip columnists.

– Toward the end of the 70s, rather than grow old alone, he opted to marry Barbara Marx – the former wife of Zeppo Marx, who had strategically befriended and supported him as he lived alone in Palm Springs, ultimately pressuring him into marrying her. He was in his early 60s, she very attractive in her late 40s and saw that a marriage to Frank would cement her position into the world of the rich and famous to which she aspired. Their marriage then became one of mutual dependence, but she kept him on a short leash and controlled much of his life. According to this book, it was a stable but not a particularly happy marriage that lasted 22 years. Older and emotionally beat up after the failure of his marriage to Mia Farrow, Frank’s once prodigious energy was waning and he he didn’t have it in him to resist or fight her control, nor to agressively pursue the wild adventures and sexual exploits of his past.

– Like many celebrities of that era, he never took great care of himself, and a lifetime of smoking, drinking, and all-night carousing was catching up with him. Though he continued to travel and perform into his 70s, and early 80s, with a lot of help from Barbara – 11 years his junior, he suffered from cardiac disease and he died of a heart attack at age 82 in 1998.

In the summary above, I hit on some of the many highlights from this fascinating book about a complex man who was, and continues to be prominent in American culture; Here are some of my key takeaways from spending some sixty hours amazed, startled and entertained listening to this two volume biography:

– As a major popular figure in America for over 40 years, his life served as a lens through which to look at American society and culture during a period of great turmoil and transition, from the WW2 generation, into the Eisenhower years of the 1950s, followed by the rebellious turmoil of the 1960s with the Vietnam war and the counterculture revolution, and then the subtle slide and transition into the very different world of America in the 70s and 80s.

-This bio provides insights into the lives of the “rich and famous,” and Sinatra’s life, values and lifestyle are a window into the lives of those in this period with lots of fame and money and celebrity. Frank hobnobbed and was good friends with everyone who was considered Hollywood royalty at the time, as well as with people of great wealth and influence in America outside of Hollywood. While “keeping up appearances” was expensive and even when he had little money, Frank went into debt living the lifestyle of the rich and famous, and never seemed willing to scrimp or economize. He was always confident he could make more, and he always did, but he did have to keep working to make the money he needed to live as though he didn’t need it. He spent lavishly, but was also very generous to his friends and admirers. He famously often gave $100 dollar tips to valets and waiters.

-Frank got all that most men fantasize about- lots of fame, money, power, attention, as well as love, affection and sex from a multitude of beautiful women. And yet his was not a happy life. He was unable to develop emotional intimacy with women, (or arguably, with anyone,) he was often depressed, attempted suicide at least once and seemed to always be chasing the next high – either in fame and recognition, or romantic love with a desirable woman. And he was often/usually able to get what he wanted – but the thrill and the joy didn’t last.

-It seemed that many if not most of the Hollywood stars with whom Frank cavorted were similarly driven – to find fame, sex, adventure – due to an unwillingness or inability to enjoy or be satisfied with simple pleasures. These drives were often fueled and enhanced by alcohol and drugs, as well as the promise of more fame, sexual adventures, and excitement. In Frank and many of celebrity friends, these internal drives also fueled their ambition, hard work, and drive to succeed and excel at their craft, and then to get more fame, glory and power. In many or most cases, even for the most successful, the happiness and joy achieved was ephemeral, like a drug high, and when it went away, it was followed by an emptiness that they believed could only be filled with more commercial success, fame, sex, money adventure. And that high was accompanied by fear that it wouldn’t last and they could lose it. That was certainly the case with Frank Sinatra – and he perhaps represented the best and known example of that syndrome..

-I learned to appreciate how important the musical “arrangement” is to the quality and impact of music – especially popular music. Frank was very sensitive to adjusting the arrangement of his music to fit his particular style and goals – meaning, which instruments introduce the tune, how and what they play to accent and enhance the melody, what instrumentation is played during the “break” from the lyrics, how the instrumentals affect and color the emotional impact of the tune, and how the singer sings the lyrics. Frank was regarded by the musical elite as a master in shaping and expressing emotion in his music. Of his musical collaborators, Nelson Riddle is the most famous, but also Billy May and Gordon Jenkins were important arrangers of Sinatra’s music. Since reading this book, I pay much more attention to and appreciate the arrangement behind the lyrics and the basic tunes in the music I listen to.

-Frank was unique in the amount of emotion he was able to put into and communicate through his singing – listeners, especially women, almost had the feeling he was singing to them personally. He worked hard at internalizing the meaning of the lyrics – the poetry – of the songs he sang, and making the writer’s intent his own, which gave his singing of the lyrics special power. When I listen to Franks hits now, I can hear the power of the emotion that he puts behind his singing.

FINALLY This was a fascinating book about a complex, fascinating, very driven and talented man, perhaps one of the most famous and popular of all of the TV and Hollywood stars while I was growing up in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The book addresses the litany of salacious rumors that surrounded his life, and attempts to validate or debunk those rumors. The author did an AMAZING amount of research – he must have read thousands of gossip columns from newspapers of the day spreading and addressing rumors of Frank’s crazy life, and he read the biographical accounts of the many prominent people who had interactions with Sinatra in his lifetime. It seemed that anyone who had interacted with Sinatra, and who wrote their own story/autobiography felt compelled to comment on their interaction with and their impressions of the man. Ultimately, after age left the glamor and wild and crazy fun behind him, I felt it was a sad story. Almost a cautionary tale for the ambitious young stars of Hollywood.

I read a great quote from Thomas Merton that I believe applies here – as a counter to the life Sinatra lived, “Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance.”

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Reeds in the Wind, by Grazia Deledda

Posted on September 7, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: On a recommended reading list of books to read before my impending visit to Sardinia. I looked at google and it said that Reeds in the Wind was first published 1913 and Deledda won the Nobel Prize in literature in1926. In her award, the Nobel committee specifically noted how well her books described life in her native Sardinia, how she treated guilt, aging family, regret, forgiveness, fate, human responsibility. and the feeling of being carried along by forces one cannot control – as universal. She was was the first Italian woman to win the Nobel prize.  That was enough to convince me to read the book.

Summary in 3 sentences: Reeds in the Wind is about a formerly well-to-do family, now nearly destitute, in a small village in the mountains of central Sardinia in the late 19th/early 20th century. The protagonist is Efix, the family’s servant who had served the famaily for decades and stayed on to take care of the four spinster daughters on their struggling estate after their tyrannical father died. It is about his life and the drama that ensued after the father died, and a relative arrives from the mainland.  

My Impressions: An interesting short (about 190 pages in paperback) book which tells a story that takes place primarily in a remote and isolated mountain village in Sardinia, in the window of the late 19th/early 20th century. There are no automobiles, electricity, telephones – none of technological advantages of more modern urban civilized countries – and as such we get a glimpse into how traditional villages – our ancestors – lived in previous centuries. The story is about a poor family in the village, and the story’s protagonist is a very poor servant of that family who is driven to leave the family and his village to wander out into neighboring towns and villages, and then returns at the conclusion.  

The description of life in the village includes the petty jealousies between the members of the village, the power of superstition, how most good intentions go awry or mask ulterior motives, and the suspicions and distrust of those who seem to have more than others. Also, the church (in this case the Catholic Church) has much authority and is the the center of community life, and the stories of the bible are the primary source of moral guidance and inspiration among the relatively uneducated population. Festivals celebrating religious figures, holidays and saints are a primary source of social entertainment.

I’ve told my friends that I believe that this book describes a Sardinian version of pre-20th century life in remote villages around the world – that a similar version of this story could probably be told taking place in Scotland, West Virginia, Germany, Lebanon, India, the Balkans- in nearly any country. The setting is similar to what what was described in another book I read in preparation for my trip to Sardinia Accabadora (my review of it here) and about what I read of life in remote villages in the Balkans in The Tiger’s Wife (my review here) This particular story is about the experiences of the servant of what was once a relatively prosperous family in a village in the mountains of Sardinia, of four sisters who had been living with their father, after the mother had died.  The protagonist however is their servant.

The background of the main story is that the mother in this family was a kind and well-loved woman who was the glue that held the family together. The family’s servant, Efix had served them for many years doing chores and manual labor around their farm/estate. The family saw itself as among the “better,” more affluent. “well-healed” segment of the small society in that village – having a “servant” was part of that. When the mother died the father became something of an angry irrational tyrant, ruling his family with an iron fist – carelessly and flagrantly spending what money they had, ignoring his responsibilities to his estate. The youngest daughter chose to escape such an environment, and with no notice, simply left and never communicated with her family again. This created something of a scandal within the village, and the family and especially the father, were humiliated – this sort of thing just doesn’t happen with the best families in town.  

The father becomes even more unhinged. He searched, turned over every stone, and unsuccessfully pursued every lead to find his wayward daughter, ostensibly out of anger to punish her for this travesty. People in the village rightly assumed that she had secretly fled the family and Sardinia for mainland Italy. After a while, the father is found dead on the road near the village, perhaps from a stroke or a heart attack, and the remaining three daughters and the servant are left with little money and few resources to maintain the farm. This is where the story begins – about 18-20 years later. 

By now, the daughters have fallen into poverty, but Efix loyally stays with them, doing what he can to take care of them and the farm, even though they continue to take his service for granted, promising to, but never paying him for his service. Then, out of nowhere, they get a letter from Giacinto a young man living on the mainland who claims to be the son of their wayward sister, who he claims has died, and is on his way to come and live with his Sardinian family. This letter and his prospective arrival create a buzz of excitement, curiosity, and also of suspicion in the family and the whole village. 

After several months of uncertainty, Giacinto finally arrives without notice and turns out to be a handsome and charming young man, says he indeed has some money and hopes to find work. The women in the village are all a-twitter, especially the younger unmarried ones, and the older men are interested in the money he claims to have. The three sisters, his aunts, though they recognize that they have a responsibility to host him, are suspicious of his intentions about which he is vague. One of the sisters in particular, Noemi, who by nature is distant and distrustful, is unwelcoming to Giacinto and wants nothing to do with him – which we later learns has subtle reasons.  

Giacinto turns out to be less mature than his general demeanor suggested. He borrows money under false pretenses, makes some mistakes and after a series of misunderstandings and recriminations, he is seen by many as a irresponsible rogue, so he imply leaves without notice. There is chaos in the family of the three sisters, but he tells Efix that he intend to find work in a nearby town to make money and then to return in good stead, to repair his reputation, and repay the debts he’d accumulated in the village. After a short while, Efix leaves the acriomny behind, to go pursue Giacinto.  

Efix finally finds and reconnects with Giacinto, and they have a long discussion. It appears that options for reconciliation at home and with the three sisters don’t look good. Efix becomes frustrated and sad, returns to his village with little hope of resolving this issue, then again, leaves the chaos of the three sisters without a plan.

He teams up with a blind beggar and becomes part of the community of beggars that travel on foot around that part of Sardinia, begging for money and handouts to survive. Efix turns out to be one of the few in this “community” of beggars with common sense and integrity, and assumes the difficult role of trying to manage the tensions within that group. After a while he decides to leaves them to their bickering, and returns again to the sisters and his village, to see if he can perhaps find a way to facilitate a reconciliation that would bring some order to the chaos he left behind. We also learn that Efix is largely driven by the need to do penance for a sin he’d committed many years ago, which he confessed only to Giacinto, when Giacinto was confessing to Efix a burden of guilt he was carrying from his misdeeds in Italy before coming to Sardinia. 

Efix is the main character and protagonist of this book. He is a humble, moral man, selfless almost to a fault in his dedication to others, but also capable, resourceful and practical. We inevitably are impressed with his generosity of spirit and his character as we observe how he deals with his many challenges, from a position of very little power.  

At this point, to relate the next and final phase of the story would be to give away the conclusion of the book, which (I believe) is a key reason to read and stay with the book, and knowing it in advance would significantly detract from the experience of reading it. 

Would I recommend Reeds in the Wind to others? Yes with caveats. As I wrote similarly in my reviews of The Tiger’s Wife and Accabadora, if you’re looking for a page-turner with a driving plot, you won’t enjoy this book  and would probably put it down.  But Reeds in the Wind is legitimate literature – well written, with interesting and unique characters in a setting that exists in the history of nearly all of us. If you’re willing to step into a family drama in a small village in 19th century Sardinia, and get into the challenges of a loyal servant doing his best to keep the lid on a family drama and ameliorate the suffering of those he has committed himself to protect, it is a well written book, a good story and an often fascinating read. 

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