Shattered Dreams

I have read a few books about the Fundamentalist Mormon groups in Utah. These are groups of people who have split off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because they wished to continue practicing polygamy. After the original split, there have been further splits dividing the people and families over differences about leadership and doctrine. One of the more famous, recent groups was led by Warren Jeffs in Colorado City and Hurricane, Utah. Some of these groups also include the Allred's (Salt Lake Valley), Blackmores (in Canada), and the LeBaron's (Mexico). All of these groups are related to each other in some way and each group has had their own difficulties. I find these groups interesting, both in their beliefs and lifestyle. The group I knew least about were the LeBaron's in Mexico. I came across Shattered Dreams : My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer at the library and had to read it.

Many of the books on this topic are written by women who lived in one of these communities. They usually explain how they were raised, what they were taught to believe, and then the life choices they made. Shattered Dreams is no different, but the story is fascinating. Irene secretly marries her husband Verlan as a second wife as a teenager and is quickly sent to Mexico. There, Irene and her sister wife endure a foreign land, language and a shared husband. They experience extreme poverty as they struggled to eke out a living in one failed farm after another. Pretty soon Irene has children and the stress and strain is palpable, but she never truly waivers in her faith. She is determined to live her beliefs. Then her husband decides to marry again. And again.

Eventually, she does begin to waiver. After the years of extreme poverty, constant moving in Mexico and South America, and multiple sister wives, Irene escapes with her children back to the United States. It's about this time that the religious leadership of her group begins to fracture. Her husband's brother Ervil murdered several people in the name of religion and his hit list included Irene and her family. After Verlan's death, Irene leaves polygamy for good.

The story is both honest and real. It's a bit rough. You question why any woman would willingly choose to live as she did. And yet, you have sympathy for her as she explains why she stayed as long as she did. This book is well worth a read.

Trapped under the sea

The city of Boston had been dumping sewage and waste into Boston Harbor for hundreds of years. It was toxic and needed to be cleaned up. But before that could happen Boston needed a way to deal with sewage. Most people don't think about what happens when you flush a toilet. That waste has to go somewhere. In many communities it goes to a sewer treatment plant where the waste is broken down and treated eventually being released back into the environment as clean water. The city of Boston created a master plan that was bold in its vision. The plan was to build a new treatment plan and a 10 mile tunnel under Boston Harbor. The goal was to release treated waste deep into the ocean far from Boston Harbor. Eventually, Boston Harbor would recover and be safe once again.

Such a thing had never been attempted. The initial tunneling went well. The unknown factor was the end of the job. Someone would have to pull the plugs in sequence. These plugs would be where the cleaned waste water is released. The plugs were deep at the end of the tunnel. Deep sea divers were needed to do the job. These men had experience in deep water dives and industrial construction. But even they had never done something like this. There were a lot of safety concerns for this job. Bids were put out for subcontractors. One was selected made up of a team of 5 deep sea divers. Their plan was untested. Their equipment was specially made and also untested. Safety concerns were raised and ignored. What followed was a tragedy.

The story is written in the style of a true-crime novel. There were sections where the story dragged as the author details the conditions in the tunnel and the equipment that was used. Those sections of the story were essential in explaining why the tragedy occurred. The reviews on Amazon are almost universally positive. The writing style did not appeal to me as it switched between characters and description. Still, the story is important because it explains the human toll of our modern infrastructure and lives.

Book Review: 3.5 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Cemetery John

I caught part of a PBS documentary about new theories on the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's son a year ago or so. The documentary featured Robert Zorn prominently because of his recently publication of his book Cemetery John. I picked up this book because I wanted more information and background on his new theory about the case.

Robert Zorn's theory is based on a chance encounter his father experienced with an unusual man when he was a teenager. After the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, Zorn's father connected this man to the Lindbergh case through deductive reasoning. He spent a lifetime collecting information about the case and was convinced that this unusual man was the mastermind behind it all.

Robert Zorn picks up where his father left off by consulting experts and expanding his research. The presentation of the material is fascinating. We get the background of the Lindbergh's with their rise to fame and fortune. We also learn about Cemetery John, the person who arranges and picks up the ransom money and who Robert Zorn thinks that is. We also see the mishandling of the case by the police and FBI. The media attention the case garnered played a major influence on how the case was handled and eventually settled.

Zorn's theory is very convincing though some people cast doubts on it. How could a chance encounter by Zorn's father really provide a basis for a credible theory? Even so Zorn does a good job. The book is a great true-crime reading of the story. I liked that Zorn included information about what happened to the Lindbergh's long after the case had been closed. Charles Lindbergh is a fascinating and surprising person.

Book Rating: 5 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.