Josephmallozzi.com Website Review

i read 48 non-fiction books in 2018.  these were my favorites…. 11. a river in the darkness: one man’s escape from north korea by masaji ishikawa. his family moved from japan to north korea when ishikawa was just thirte*n years old, and unwittingly became members of the lowest social caste. his father, himself a korean national, was lured to the new communist country by promises of abundant work, education for his years he spent living under a crushing totalitarian regime, as well as the challenges he faced repatriating to japan after barely escaping north korea with his life. a river in darkness is not only a shocking portrait of life inside the country but a testament to the circu*stances of her birth (a blackout, gasoline shortages, bickering parents) don’t exactly get her off to a running start. while around her, ethnic tensions are stoked by totalitarian leaders with violent agendas, stefanovic’s early life is filled with yugo rock, seem to fit in, and their turbulent homeland, which they can’t seem to shake. meanwhile, yugoslavia collapses into the bloodiest european culture that she both cherishes and resents. revealing war and immigration from the crucial viewpoint of women and children, stefanovic chronicles her own coming-of-age, both as a woman and as an artist who yearns to take control of her own story. refreshingly. 9. i’ll be gone in the dark: one woman’s obsessive search for the golden state killer by michelle mcnamara. where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best the violent psychopath she called “the golden state killer.” michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded vaulting tall fences. he always wore a mask. after choosing a victim—he favored suburban couples—he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. he attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind