EXTRA VIRGINITY : THE SUBLIME AND SCANDALOUS WORLD OF OLIVE OIL
by Tom Mueller

In order for olive oil to have an extra virgin grade, it must be fruity, bitter and peppery, have a pleasant taste, and leave a clean feeling in the mouth. It can't be rancid, vinegary, greasy, or smelly. Unfortunately, most of what is on the supermarket shelves currently is not extra virgin (even though it's marked that way right on the bottle) but adulterated oil. Any flaws and it's classed as lampaste which means that it can only legally be sold as fuel. Fake olive oils are worldwide (many are not even made with olives) and the United States sells tons of it.
Some of the scams are taking soybean or canola oil, dyeing it green, adding beta-carotene for flavor and then putting it in tins or bottles with Italian flags across the front of it and cutesy names of fictitious producers. Most of this fraud is not regulated so it's rampant.
There are still, fortunately, artisan oil producers who mill (press) their own olives using ancient traditions where making excellent, superior extra virgin olive oil has been done in their family for generations. These are the people where you would buy your oil from. Of course, the majority of us don't live near a mill so the next best thing is to find a seller who has oil in bulk rather than in bottles or tins (decay sets in, immediately, as soon as oil is encased) and stores it in containers that are temperature-controlled. If you can find a store where you can taste olive oils before purchasing them and find out where they came from and how they were made, so much the better.
Tom Mueller has written quite an astonishing book. Besides writing about the ever present corruption, he relates the oil's history in regards to health (it's high in anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory); it's use in soaps, salves and creams; how Olympiads would slather their bodies to give them more energy; even textiles, leather and yarn were infused with oil.
At the end of the book, there's a Glossary and an Appendix on how to choose good oil and a large range of websites on all kinds of information that have to do with extra virgin olive oil, such as: research centers, olive associations, where to buy the best oils, olive oil chemistry and tasting, etc.
Mueller didn't miss a thing and it's quite comprehensive. Some great trivia is interspersed, too. If you're crazy about olive oil, this would be a good book to own. It's definitely an eye-opener.
Recommended.

CATHERINE THE GREAT : PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN
by Robert K. Massie

She was the only female that ever ascended to the Russian throne. Considered to be on par with Peter the Great, Catherine, in her reign of thirty-five years, accomplished a staggering amount of feats.
Born Sophia Augusta Fredericka von Anhalt-Zerbst to a minor noble family, she certainly was not favored. All of the attention was centered on her younger brother. This would change when she became an adolescent. Suddenly she's marriage material and that was fine by Sophia. She wanted to get away from her dominant mother and rise above her. When Sophia turned fourteen, a letter arrived from St. Petersburg written by Empress Elizabeth (the younger daughter of Peter the Great) inviting both mother and daughter to the court and to introduce Sophia to Peter, Elizabeth's nephew. Two years later, Sophia (now Catherine after she converted from her Lutheran faith to the Orthodox Church) and Peter married. Now her obligation was to produce an heir. For nine years nothing happened because Peter was a total mess psychologically and physically. It wasn't until Catherine took a lover (there would be a total of twelve) that she finally felt fulfilled. These men gave her companionship, (they would be called "favorites"), passion, and love. Even though her private life was considered scandalous, what she presented to the public was brilliance, a quick wit, astuteness, fairness and power.
Catherine the Great was quite a remarkable woman. She dealt with rebellion, foreign wars, violence and at the same time tried to ameliorate the situation with serfdom and to help the Russian people live better. Catherine was an avid reader and was influenced heavily by Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu. She used his theories and others during her rule. Catherine also loved art and created quite a collection; brought literature, sculpture, education, medicine, architecture (many buildings and magnificent structures were built) to Russia; opened up the Black Sea to expand the ports for trade and commerce. She left quite a legacy.
Robert Massie, without a doubt, really knows how to present Russian history in an enjoyable format. There's so much information (the book took him eight years to write) but what you read is absolutely fascinating. It's quite hefty at 574 pages which does not include the Notes and the Index. There are several pages in color of Catherine, Peter, and Elizabeth.
The last time I read anything by Massie was when I was in high school and that was his superb Nicholas and Alexandra.
He has done justice, again, with Catherine the Great.
Highly recommended.

CHARLES DICKENS : A LIFE
by Claire Tomalin

He was considered to be the greatest novelist of the nineteenth century. As a writer of twenty novels, several short story collections, poetry, plays, and stories for two separate magazines, Charles Dickens was quite prolific. The public loved him because his works portrayed their life. He was a keen observer and nothing went to chance. Everything about English society entranced him.
Dickens was born into poverty. His father could never hold a job and the family constantly moved to escape creditors. When his father was sent to prison, Dickens had to work in a factory. He hated it and didn't last long there. His next major job was as a court reporter. Some really sorry cases were tried and were quite upsetting to Dickens. He would use them in his writings (all of his fiction had many autobiographical elements in them, particularly David Copperfield). Ideas for novels came to him and he was off running never stopping until the end.
It was truly fascinating reading about this over-the-top persona who had such greatness but at the same time was very flawed. Dickens was extremely generous with friends, was a philanthropist (he financed a home for fallen women), gave to the needy, supported other writers by editing their writings and having their works published, gave readings of what he himself had written to adoring crowds (he was quite theatrical and if he hadn't become a writer, he would have been an actor). The flip side was that Dickens was a terrible father (he had ten children) and most of the time ignored them and would complain years later about having so many. His long suffering wife was treated miserably by him (they shouldn't have been married in the first place). So while he was perceived as being a humanist and virtuous, Dickens would destroy his own life betraying and deceiving the ones closest to him.
Claire Tomalin has written an impeccably researched biography on Charles Dickens. At 417 pages (not including 70 pages of Notes), the book is quite hefty. Starting with the beginning, there are maps with their own separate Key; and a Cast List of the families on both sides and every single person who came in contact with Dickens.
Although there is tons of information, the book is quite readable. If you're a fan of Dickens but don't really know much about him, check this one out.
Recommended.

THE ORCHARD : A MEMOIR
by Theresa Weir

To spray, or not to spray, that is the question. If you have an apple orchard, the only choice is to use pesticides otherwise the codling moth will destroy all of the crops. To go organic is not an option.
Theresa Weir, while working at her uncle's bar, fell in love with Adrian Curtis, the son of local farmers in Iowa when she was twenty-one. They got married and she was forever rejected by his family because she was an outsider. She will only be accepted if she follows their ways. The farm has existed for generations and it must continue. Dangerous chemicals permeate everything around them and it's not a life that neither Theresa nor Adrian want their children to experience.
The Orchard is both a beautiful and dark book. It's beautiful due to the simple, spare, and honest writing. There is an undercurrent of suspense throughout (no suprise, there, because Weir writes under the pseudonym Anne Frasier and she's well-known for her tales of mystery).
In her current book, there are chapters about her earlier life with her mother and siblings. It's good to see these interventions so as to get an idea of Weir's personality and where she came from. Once you start reading, you are immediately absorbed. It's a small book and can be finished in one day.
Haunting, hypnotizing, mesmerizing are the best words to describe this tale.
Very highly recommended.

MURDER IN THE FIRST-CLASS CARRIAGE : THE FIRST VICTORIAN RAILWAY KILLING
by Kate Colquhoun

British trains during the 1860s were nothing like their American counterparts. The Victorian trains were comprised of carriages and each one of them were divided into separate box-like compartments. There were doors on both sides that opened onto the station platform but no corridor or door was between them. So, if a passenger had an emergency or needed to call somebody for assistance, they were out of luck.
Thomas Briggs would become that one unlucky man and for him, it would be fatal.
Briggs boarded the North London railway on a first-class carriage at 9:45 pm. Soon afterward, two bank clerks entered this same compartment but Briggs was not there. What was discovered, instead, was blood on the cushions, floor and windows. A walking stick, an empty leather bag and a broken watch chain were left. The most conspicuous object was a hat which was not the kind that Briggs normally wore.
In due time, the hunt for the killer began. The police force used their best detectives and were able to figure out the identity of the murderer from different witnesses and by offering rewards to help solve the crime. They found out where he lived and were ready to arrest him but the killer had taken off to America where a sister of his lived. Now the chase was on for the inspectors to take a ship, themselves, and try to nab the fugitive as his prospective ship landed at the ports of New York. They would be successful and would bring him back to Britain for a trial.
This crime caused quite a sensation and shocked the world at that time. People would eagerly read the newspapers, every day, as the event unfolded.
Kate Colquhoun has written quite a suspenseful book and it's very hard to put down. How she describes the case, the characters involved, (there's a complete list at the end), the railway system, and the use of capital punishment makes for mesmerizing reading.
It's definitely a quirky tale and if you like true-to-life mysteries, this one is quite a winner.
Highly recommended.

AND SO IT GOES : KURT VONNEGUT, A LIFE
by Charles J. Shields

While he was alive, there were no entries in dictionaries about him. Critics were always hard on his writings dismissing them. He was much loved, though, by the young (college-aged) crowd. But his life in public and what he wrote in his books was a complete contradiction to his private persona. He was never a happy camper and always felt lonely.
Kurt Vonnegut grew up in a home with servants. His father, Kurt Sr., was an architect and his mother, Edith, was barely a parent. They entertained quite lavishly but never hugged their children. Kurt Jr.'s older brother, Bernard, was favored because he was gifted (he became a scientist), so he got the attention. The only time Kurt Jr. felt wanted was during the summer when the Vonnegut family would go to Lake Maxinkuckee in Indiana. Other relatives would be there for him lending support and sympathy. (Having an extended family was one of the features in his books.)
Nobody listened to him (he was the youngest child) and the only way he could change that was to tell ridiculous stories that made people laugh. Humor became one of his strengths which he would use later in life when he would appear at events.
High school is when he began to write and it would become all-consuming to him. He also picked up two bad vices: alcohol and cigarettes (he smoked only Pall Malls) and could never shake off these addictions.
By the time Vonnegut was in college (Cornell and a science major), he was writing pretty steadily. He never graduated and enlisted in the army and became part of the 106th division that were captured by the Germans. (He saw the bombing of Dresden.) All of the POWs were housed in a huge slaughterhouse (supposed to be used for animals). The name of the compound was Schlachthof-Funf: Slaughterhouse-Five.
When Vonnegut returned from the war, he got married and he and his wife had four children. Soon enough, there would be four more but they would be his sister's boys. She died of cancer and her husband was killed in a train crash. Vonnegut was a terrible father. He ignored his kids (they thought of him more as a friend) because he was always holed up in his study writing. His relationship with his wife wasn't much better (he had dalliances on the side). They lived pretty meagerly since he was the sole breadwinner. He had written quite a few articles for magazines and a couple of novels but nobody knew who he was. Slaughterhouse-Five finally put him on the map and he really never had to write another book again. At the age of fifty, he was wealthy.
Having read Vonnegut's novels in high school and college, I never really considered what the man was like behind his writings. Charles J. Shields has brought him to the surface and it's very revealing. It took Shields five years to compose his research from interviews with Vonnegut, friends, family, neighbors and fifteen hundred letters. He gives you such a bird's-eye view that you feel as if you are a part of an intimate story.
The book is a real page-turner and very engrossing.
Highly recommended.

RUNNING AWAY TO HOME : ONE FAMILY'S JOURNEY TO CROATIA IN SEARCH OF WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE CAME FROM, AND WHAT REALLY MATTERS
by Jennifer Wilson

Why not go to Croatia for a sabbatical? Life is much simpler in this country and you can live off the land. This is what Jennifer Wilson, her husband, Jim, and their two children, Zadie and Sam did in 2008. They had lost half of their savings in the stock market crash and were stuck in a rut in Des Moines, Iowa. Jennifer's great-grandparents had left Croatia over one hundred years ago for America and she thought about returning to the homeland to discover her roots, find the graves of the relatives, talk to people who might have known them, try and look for their residences.
They spend four months, during the summer, in Mrkopalj living amonst 800 people, cavorting with the locals, drinking quite a bit of booze (adults only), attempting to learn the near impossible Croatian language, taking trips to the coast, attempting to milk the neighbor's cows, learning about the difficult history with the wars and the privation that followed, chopping wood, eating plenty of potatoes and sausage.
Running Away to Home is a fun, down-to-earth book about reconnecting with family no matter where you search for them.
The writing is very good and though it's difficult, at times, to read the names of people and places in Croatian, there is a glossary at the end with the phonetic pronunciations.
I really enjoyed the book. It's one of those feel-good reads.
Recommended.

THE STORY OF CHARLOTTE'S WEB : E. B. WHITE'S ECCENTRIC LIFE IN NATURE AND THE BIRTH OF AN AMERICAN CLASSIC
by Michael Sims

Charlotte's Web has sold millions of copies. It's the best children's book ever published in the United States according to a poll of librarians, authors, teachers, and publishers. Since 2010, it has been translated into thirty-five languages. For a very shy man who didn't like being in the limelight, that changed abruptly with the book's publication.
Elwyn Brooks White was always happier around animals than he was with humans. Growing up in Mount Vernon, New York, there was a stable behind the house with horses, chickens, geese, and rabbits. The darkness, the strong smells, the earthiness would be his refuge.
Elwyn began writing at an early age and was transfixed by nature. When he was ten, he wrote a poem about a mouse, sent it off to a magazine and was awarded a prize for it. Very soon, he was contributing to a periodical for children and joined a whole parade of, at that time, unknown teenagers: Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, E. Vincent Millay, and others.
When Elwyn went off to Cornell University in 1917, he changed his first name to Andy because one of the college's cofounders was named Andrew and Elwyn never liked his given name.
Journalism was his calling and when he graduated, he submitted his writings to different columnists. The New Yorker would be the magazine to hire Andy in 1927 and there he would write his columns for over thirty years.
Andy would buy a farm in Maine with his wife, Katharine, (she was the editor of The New Yorker) and it's here that his imagination blossomed. Charlotte's Web would be conceived from his experiences with animals and all of his cherished memories as a child and as an adult.
What a wonderful book. Michael Sims captures all of the nuances of White's character; why the spider was called Charlotte; how he created the story (it took him six years to write); who was used as an illustrator; how natural history about arachnids was brought in.
The latter part of the book is when Andy started on his classic. It's interesting to read his sentences especially when he crosses out words but you can still see them underneath the markings. He was a perfectionist and was forever making revisions.
Besides his masterpiece, Andy wrote seventeen other books. Remember Stuart Little? And there's The Elements of Style which students use in college.
It's obvious that E. B. White was quite prolific and Sims, seamlessly, brings everything together.
Beautiful writing and a pure delight to read.
Very highly recommended.

DEATH IN THE CITY OF LIGHT : THE SERIAL KILLER OF NAZI-OCCUPIED PARIS
by David King

For four years, during World War II, Paris was in the throes of the Nazi Occupation. The French would suffer from hunger, fear, tyranny and terror. It would become their darkest time in history. Admist all of this wretchedness, one man would inflict the most heinous crimes on the innocent. He was true evil incarnate.
On a particular night in March of 1944, thick black smoke streamed out of a town house in the fashionable district of the 16th arrondissement. The smell was especially putrid. Nobody was home and nobody could enter. Firemen were called to the scene and a window was smashed open. The horrific odor was traced to the basement where a coal stove was burning. Dismembered human body parts were scattered throughout. It got worse and there were more nightmares discovered.
The owner of this illustrious place became the instant suspect. He was Dr. Marcel Petiot who, ironically, was called "The People's Doctor" because he was kind, generous and gave free medical treatment to the poor. Supposedly, he was a member of the French Resistance (Petiot constantly bragged about that) and saved many by his vast network. He would charge an exorbitant amount of money with no questions asked of him. The evacuees were so anxious to leave that they readily agreed. They were never seen or heard from again. The number of missing persons kept increasing. At the time of Petiot's arrest, it was up to twenty-seven murders but the total, many believed, was even higher.
The trial was a total farce due to the prosecution's negligence of asking questions that missed the main points, ignoring the convoluted and contradictory answers and never seeming to be in control of the situation.
Petiot, on the other hand, was in his element. He was the star of the show being both brilliant and arrogant which the spectators ate up.
Death in the City of Light is quite a book. The amount of research (incredible details) is astounding. At times, it can be quite grisly but the tale is so absorbing that you cannot turn away.
If you like to read true-crime, this one is a winner.
Highly recommended.

ASSASSINS OF THE TURQUOISE PALACE
by Roya Hakakian

In 1992, on a beautiful autumn evening in Berlin, eight men who were members of an Iranian and Kurdish opposition group gathered for dinner at a small restaurant. This event was something that they had all looked forward to for days. It would be short-lived. No sooner had they started eating, when two men walked in and shot twenty-six bullets in two rounds. There would be four survivors.
The next day began the guessing game concerning the perpetrators. It would not take long for the federal prosecutor to focus in on the regime of Iran. Since 1980, one year after Khomeini rose to power, a list was created for "enemies of Islam." Anybody who was considered an opponent: artists, writers, intellectuals, political activists were silenced, thrown in prison or executed. A total of five hundred people were being hunted down all over the world.
The eventual trial would last four years and the verdict caused quite a shake-up.
The book is superb with both riveting and beautiful writing. I was captivated from just reading the first page. Author Roya Hakakian is a Persian poet and her previous book, a memoir, "Journey To The Land Of No" is gorgeous and lyrical. So, she obviously knows how to dazzle the senses.
Not to be missed.
Very highly recommended.

DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC : A TALE OF MADNESS, MEDICINE, AND THE MURDER OF A PRESIDENT
by Candice Millard

Four months after being shot by a crazed individual named Charles Guiteau and close to death, James A. Garfield wondered what kind of legacy he would leave behind as the president of the United States. Had he lived, he could have been, most likely, the best man to ever serve in the White House. Up until this time, his life had been truly extraordinary. Born into abject poverty (his father died when Garfield was barely two years old) his mother instilled dignity, an incredible work ethic and a solid educational background in him. This would be his backbone.
As a student, he loved to be challenged and was always pushing himself. Garfield turned out to be quite a scholar. When he couldn't pay the tuition for his schooling during his first year, he worked as a janitor. By the second year, Garfield was promoted to assistant professor and taught literature, mathematics, and ancient languages along with three other subjects.
His brilliance continued when he became a general in the Union Army and won an important battle. Soon after, Garfield was elected to Congress. He fought for the equality of freed slaves.
His speeches were legendary. People would listen spellbound, so when he took the podium at the Republican National Convention in 1880 to nominate John Sherman for the presidency, his oratorical skills so completely captivated the audience that at the end of the speech, they were screaming for him not Sherman. Their reaction stunned him. He tried to put them off to no avail.
Garfield was nominated and won the presidency most reluctantly.
What a tremendous book! The writing is absolutely superb. Candice Millard captures everything that went on during that time period so astutely and you just cannot stop reading nor do you want to. There's so much fascinating information that will not be divulged but here are some tidbits: the doctors who treated Garfield and what they did and did not do is very disturbing and appalling; Alexander Graham Bell attempts to save the president (not by the telephone) and works long hours trying to perfect his latest invention; the madman's reason of why he shot the president; the political infighting behind the scenes.
If you're a history nut or just want to be blown away by exceptional storytelling, get a copy of this book. You won't be disappointed.
Very highly recommended.

THE ARROGANT YEARS : ONE GIRL'S SEARCH FOR HER LOST YOUTH, FROM CAIRO TO BROOKLYN
by Lucette Lagnado

Four years ago, Lucette Lagnado wrote The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit which was a portrait of her father, Leon, who walked the boulevards of Cairo so proud of himself and of what he had accomplished. The book was a terrific story and now a follow-up memoir has just been published.
In The Arrogant Years, Lucette writes about her mother, Edith and herself. Edith grew up in Old Cairo rather poor. There was no father (he had left early on) and Edith's mother, Alexandra, obsessively doted on her daughter. A lover of French literature, Edith would become a schoolteacher and a librarian. She was beautiful, vibrant, intelligent and charming and caught the eye of a much older man one day in a cafe. They got married and she had to give up her career much to her dismay.
By the early 1950s, the political situation had changed in Egypt. King Farouk was forced to abdicate. The Jews were terrified (under the kings they were protected) and started leaving the country in droves.
Lucette was born during the chaos in 1956. Seven years later, the entire family would try and rebuild the hearth in New York. Being an immigrant in a new country was tough and Lagnado tried desperately to fit in. Her many trials and tribulations (at the age of sixteen, she would be quite ill with Hodgkin's lymphoma) only made her that much stronger. While her confidence grew, her parents' struggles deepened.
I didn't want this book to end, at all. I read everything even the Acknowledgments which, most times, are long-winded with a million names. She makes it interesting breaking sections up by countries because the people who helped in her research were all over the world.
Lagnado is a wonderful writer and really knows how to showcase a family's history with such honesty and emotion.
Very highly recommended.

FINDING EVERETT RUESS : THE LIFE AND UNSOLVED DISAPPEARANCE OF A LEGENDARY WILDERNESS EXPLORER
by David Roberts

Seventy-seven years after disappearing from the face of the earth, Everett Ruess has become somewhat of a cult figure. For five years, he wandered around the Southwest in the early part of the 1930s, by himself, with two burros. His voyages would last for several months. Ruess was quite young when he started at the age of fifteen. He was so passionate about the wilderness that he wrote, painted and did engravings about it. His dream was to live independently and to showcase his art. In 1934, Ruess vanished. What remains are letters, journals, poems and artwork. Ironically, the fame that he pursued as a vagabond is very much alive and he has quite a following. But it's the mystery of what happened to him that is the most puzzling and theories abound.
I thought this book was terrific. It's extremely well written and quite readable. In no time at all, you are absorbed in the tale. The author has a background in writing about adventure and history (22 books) and he does justice with this one.
Recommended.

THE LONG NIGHT : WILLIAM L. SHIRER AND THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH

It's still known as "The Big Book" (over 1,000 pages) and when it was published in 1960 one million copies were sold. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich would become William L. Shirer's one true masterpiece and it would sustain him, financially, for the rest of his life. (He wrote it because he had no solid employment and needed money, badly.) The way Shirer envisioned it, nobody else could could produce such a monumental tome on the Nazis' rise to power and then their ultimate defeat. He lived it, in Berlin, for six years broadcasting all of the important events working for CBS news.
Shirer would never have imagined that one day he would become the first American reporter giving eyewitness accounts of the German Army's conquests in Austria (the annexation), France (the armistice), and anything else that showed Germany's superiority. People all over the world listened to the broadcasts. What Shirer read, though, was not what what he had originally planned to say. He would write up a script and the censors would cross out just about everything. Shirer wanted to speak the truth but instead most of what came out of his mouth were lies: sheer propaganda. It drove him crazy. Fortunately, he was able to document anything that he heard either from officials or other foreign correspondents via letters and journals. He kept a diary in which he laid out his true feelings (most of this would be used in his master work).
In The Long Night Steve Wick was able to recreate William Shirer's incredible experience by using his collection of papers held at the library of Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa ( Shirer's alma mater). The book is both an eye-opener and a page-turner.
Recommended.

WE IS GOT HIM : THE KIDNAPPING THAT CHANGED AMERICA
by Carrie Hagen

1874 was a pivotal year for Philadelphia. The city was going to host America's centennial celebration. They were thrilled to have taken it away from New York. Amidst the planning stages, a horrific crime took place that almost derailed the historic event.
Charley Ross was playing in his front yard, in Germantown, when he was kidnapped (enticed by candy). The following day the first of many (23) ransom notes arrived demanding $20,000.
For months the police in both Philadelphia and New York searched for the little boy (four years old) inspecting every building. The public was only able to follow the news via newspapers and the search became nationwide.
Carrie Hagen does a tremendous job in laying out the characters, showing the ineptitude of the police force, the despair of the family, the frightened hysteria of the citizens, the depravity of the criminals. Some great tidbits concerning the origins of Germantown and other parts of Philadelphia are woven into several chapters.
There's eight pages of black-and-white illustrations and the Appendix gives the unabridged versions of all the ransom letters.
She is got me. From page one to the end, I was hooked.
Very highly recommended.

NOTHING DAUNTED : THE UNEXPECTED EDUCATION OF TWO SOCIETY GIRLS IN THE WEST
by Dorothy Wickenden

In 1916, two close friends from childhood, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamund Underwood, left their home in Auburn, New York to teach in Elkhead, Colorado. Their actions scandalized family and friends because they were "society girls" and were expected to settle down and marry well, not gallivant off to the Wild West. They were bored with their cosseted life and were ready for adventure. Neither of them had ever taught before yet they were up to the challenge.
Dorothy and Rosamund lived with a homesteading family and rode on horseback to the school every day even in blizzards; deflected amorous cowboys who hoped to marry them; learned how to break up fights amongst contrary children.
Until the end of their lives, they never forgot that year and how it influenced them.
Author Dorothy Wickenden (granddaughter of Dorothy Woodruff) found letters (written almost one hundred years ago) in an old desk and from these she wrote the story of the women's incredible journey.
I did not want this book to end. The writing is superb and Wickenden captures the picture of the American West succinctly. Life was hard but the two women embraced the environment that surrounded them and in turn the lives of the children and their families were enriched.
Very highly recommended.

STEALING REMBRANDTS : THE UNTOLD STORIES OF NOTORIOUS ART HEISTS
by Anthony M. Amore and Tom Mashberg

Rembrandt van Rijn is the most stolen artist in history. He put out over 2,000 pieces of which 80 of them have been taken from museums, galleries and private homes. Rembrandt was quite prolific because he worked in three mediums: oil paintings, drawings, and metal etchings. Everything that he produced encompassed Dutch life in the seventeenth century. Whatever he saw would become a work of art: autopsied bodies, children playing, hangings, beggars, hay farmers, artisans, blacksmiths, etc.
He had such an eye for detail. His portraits are superb. The faces are not flat but are full of emotion and you can see the creases in the forehead, the lines in the cheeks, the cleft in the chin. Due to the fact that he painted anything, his art is very recognizable and encourages theft.
Stealing Rembrandts is quite interesting. You are taken on a tour around the world at all of the locations where the heists took place; how the robbers planned their M.O. (Motive of Operation); how museums that are steeped in security are still stymied by multiple break-ins; the investigations of the police, the FBI and INTERPOL. There's actually an interview between one of the authors, Tom Mashberg, with Myles J. Connor Jr., a well-known art thief. Museums should take notice and pay close attention.
Even if you're not well-versed in art, this book will definitely keep your interest afloat. Some historical information about Rembrandt's life is included and to make it even more appropriate, his home in Amsterdam has been robbed numerous times.
The other author, Anthony Amore, is head of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum (they had thirteen works of art stolen back in 1990 that have never been recovered) and is very knowledgeable about the shady dealings of priceless masterworks.
Amore and Mashberg did a great job in presenting all of the information. There's even a website for updates and more details: www.StealingRembrandts.com.
A very good read.
Recommended.

THE PERFECT NAZI : UNCOVERING MY GRANDFATHER'S SECRET PAST
by Martin Davidson

What did Bruno Langbehn do during World War II? For the family, it was always a deep, embarrassing secret. Not until he died was the truth finally discovered by author Martin Davidson, his grandson.
Bruno's childhood was heavily influenced by the military. Columns of marching soldiers were a part of his life right outside his window. His indoctrination began with the uniform. School lessons were mostly about fighting in wars. By the time World War I was over and with the humiliation of Germany's defeat, Bruno knew that he wanted to join some kind of group that could give him the fulfillment that he needed.
On May 17, 1926, Bruno joined the Nazi Party at the age of nineteen. He also affiliated himself with the SA (storm troopers). Several years later, Bruno would be in the SS.
His fanaticism, egotistical views, unwavering support for National Socialism and unrepentant attitude lived on within him until his last dying day.
The Perfect Nazi is both an important and disturbing book. Davidson is a terrific writer and seamlessly weaves together the history of the two world wars. (His background is an editor for the BBC and has produced many documentaries.)
Anyone who is interested in the Third Reich must read this story.
Recommended.

SEASON TO TASTE : HOW I LOST MY SENSE OF SMELL AND FOUND MY WAY
by Molly Birnbaum

Although she majored in art history while in college, Molly Birnbaum spent most of her time reading cookbooks and checking out recipes on the Internet. Being a chef was her passion. Before being trained at the Culinary Institute of America, she got a job at a restaurant and started to learn the true basics in the preparation of food. Molly loved being challenged. Soon she would get more than she bargained for.
While out running, Birnbaum was hit by a car: her pelvis was broken, her knee totally torn up and her skull was fractured (it went through the windshield). Everything eventually healed except her sense of smell. There went her dreams of being a great cook. If she can't smell, she can't taste.
Birnbaum goes to doctors who tell her that there is no hope, no medications, that she has to live with her loss. Not content with this news, she visits scientists who study olfaction and pheromones; meets neuroscientists, one of them being Oliver Sacks; goes to a flavor lab in New Jersey; and takes a two week course in southern France at a renowned perfume school. She is determined to understand what is going on with her nose and how to compensate.
Who knew how important scent is in our lives? Just reading about her descriptions of rosemary, cinnamon and lavender and how the brain processes each molecule for a complete entity is fascinating. Never take your nose for granted.
Birnbaum's writing is superb. Her perseverance and strength brought her success. She changed careers but didn't lose her love of cooking and can obviously do each one quite well.
Recommended.

CHASING APHRODITE : THE HUNT FOR LOOTED ANTIQUITIES AT THE WORLD'S RICHEST MUSEUM
by Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino

Museums have dirty little secrets and American ones are the worst offenders. For years, they spent millions of dollars buying classical art that was stolen from ancient tombs in Greece and Italy. Curators dealt with deceptive middlemen, smugglers and corrupt art dealers. The objects had fake histories of ownership (known as provenance) and would be displayed with a short commentary of where the piece originated, how old it was, and where it was bought from. Everything was a lie. The CEOs, the directors, the board members, all knew that the antiquities were looted and yet they approved the purchases. All they cared about was buying the next big masterpiece.
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles took center stage with their acquisitions. Over forty years, they spent an enormous fortune to get a bronze athlete, a funerary wreath and many others. The seven-and-a-half-foot statue of Aphrodite would cause the Getty's demise and create a huge scandal.
Felch and Frammolino are investigative reporters and they did a heck of a job exposing what goes on behind the scenes that the public never gets to see. What they found, through their intensive research, is astonishing. Over and over again, antiquities were bought, illegally, and international laws were violated through greed, arrogance, hypocrisy and deception.
Chasing Aphrodite is a terrific read. It's quite a tale and will make you think twice the next time you walk into a museum.
Recommended.

MY KOREAN DELI : RISKING IT ALL FOR A CONVENIENCE STORE
by Ben Ryder Howe

A preppy editor who works for George Plimpton's Paris Review is married to a Korean-American, a former corporate lawyer. The two of them live in the in-laws' basement (in Staten Island) so that they can save money and get their own place some day. Gab, the editor's wife, decides to give her mother a gift for what she had sacrificed in coming to America. They blow thirty thousand dollars and buy a deli in Brooklyn.
From looking to find the right store, dealing with the customers and the regulations, it's enough to make you never want to buy one in the first place.
Kay, the mother-in-law, is one tough cookie whose energy level is nonstop; Dwayne (he came with the store) is a great employee but very rough around the edges; Gab, so devoted to her mother, will keep the store open during a blizzard while everyone around them is closed. As for Ben, he thinks that the whole idea is terrific but when it comes to the cash register he's all thumbs.
My Korean Deli is both a funny and quirky book. Between residing in someone else's basement where people just barge in without knocking, learning about Korean culture and the characters that congregate in the deli makes for very enjoyable reading.
Recommended.

HOW TO EAT A SMALL COUNTRY : A FAMILY'S PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, ONE MEAL AT A TIME
by Amy Finley

Back in 2007, Amy Finley sent in an audition tape for season three of The Next Food Network Star totally on a whim. She was a professional cook and stayed home with the kids while her husband worked. Amy thought her life was mundane and decided to try something different. She was stunned when she won but only did six shows and then walked away from it. Why? Her French husband, Greg, was not happy and didn't want her to do this in the first place because of the celebrity status and their life being open to prying eyes. He wants her home with the children and their marriage falters. So, to revive and reunite, Amy suggests they move everyone to France (that is where, after all, she and Greg first met). Ironically, he is the one who paid for her cooking classes from hard-earned money.
They live in the Burgundy region in an old farmhouse and food, of course, is the central theme. Traveling all over rural France savoring the known specialties of the different regions, you salivate with every bite. Upon their return to their rustic abode, Amy cooks what she ate on their adventures.
Amy's writing is terrific. Besides talking about the cuisine, she describes the towns, the history, the people and how the way of life that used to be is disappearing. Modernization is taking over (one store, called Picard, sells only frozen food), raw cheese is falling by the wayside with the old-timers hanging up their aprons and retiring, many products are not even produced in France and are now being imported (aghast!) from China and elsewhere and restaurants that used to be creme de la creme are now only mediocre with indifferent waitstaff.
If you're a foodie, you'll love diving in. There are no exact recipes printed but Amy describes how she prepares the cuisine so that you get the gist of what to do.
Absolutely delicious and a wonderful read.
Recommended.

EVERY DAY BY THE SUN : A MEMOIR OF THE FAULKNERS OF MISSISSIPPI
by Dean Faulkner Wells

She came from a family of murderers, racists, thieves and liars. Sprinkled in that midst was an FBI agent, a president of a bank, a builder of a narrow gauge railroad, a lawyer, authors and four pilots (all brothers). They were all bred in Mississippi. The most famous relative was William Faulkner, the author's uncle. He always tried to keep the family together by hosting gatherings at his home. As is obvious from the first sentence, they didn't get along too well with one another. They couldn't even agree on the spelling of their last name: Falkner, Faulkner, or Fa(u)lkner.
Dean Faulkner Wells never knew her father. He died four months before she was born in a plane crash. She was named for him. The oldest brother, William, took on the responsibility of helping to raise his niece. "Pappy" would give her security, love, emotional stability and much wisdom.
Every Day by the Sun is a marvelous story. Writing is most definitely in the genes. Not having known much about the Faulkner family (they kept to themselves and protected their privacy), in this book you are given a wide glimpse into what made them tick.
There are two family trees printed at the beginning and the author pretty much covers all of the main characters and their fascinating history. Although William Faulkner is the one individual people are the most interested in (besides his many novels for which he won a Nobel Prize, he also was a screenwriter for MGM), the rest of the gang are equally entertaining.
The book is sad, funny and a delight to read.
Highly recommended.

THE MAN IN THE ROCKEFELLER SUIT : THE ASTONISHING RISE AND SPECTACULAR FALL OF A SERIAL IMPOSTER
by Mark Seal

How far could somebody with the name Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter accomplish himself in America? The only way would be to change yourself completely, become, say, a Rockeller (Clark) and make up all these brilliant stories so that everyone would just gravitate to you.
Over thirty years ago, a German seventeen-year-old left Bavaria and came to the United States posing as a foreign exchange student. His documents were dubious and would continue to be so. Along the way, he began changing both his name(s), professions and stories deceiving all who came across his path. Gerhartsreiter was quite a con man slipping in and out of identities like a chameleon. He would charm wealthy widows and promise them the world; work in the financial field trading bonds; had an art collection worth millions of dollars. His living arrangements were always bizarre: no furniture except lawn chairs in beautiful, expensive townhouses. He would brag about his collection of antique cars yet he drove an old broken-down jalopy without a driver's license.
For twelve years, he was married to a very successful business woman who believed everything he said even though she thought he was eccentric. (He had no Social Security number and no checking account.) Alas, his deception finally came to an end when he kidnapped their daughter (he and his wife were divorced by this time).
What a story and what an ingenious mind! How this man used people to get what he wanted and their gullibility worked to his advantage. "Rockefeller" lied his way from California, to Connecticut, New York and finally to Boston. There are so many ridiculous tales he told that if he tried any of this stuff, in today's world, nobody would believe him.
Gerhartsreiter would change information about his parents, constantly. One minute his father was an industrialist and his mother an archeologist. The next day, his parents died in a car crash. Or, his mother was an actress and they lived in Virginia.
He bragged about going to Yale at the age of fourteen; said that Lord Mountbatten was a cousin (this is when his name was Christopher Mountbatten); claimed to have produced movies and worked with Alfred Hitchcock; etc.
If you like true crime, you must read this book. The author interviewed two hundred people who would have had contact with the imposter.
There are numerous photographs so you can see what he looks like. In many of them, he is actually trying to disguise himself.
Very well-written and quite a page-turner. You won't be disappointed.
Highly recommended.

TREASURES FROM THE ATTIC : THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF ANNE FRANK'S FAMILY
by Mirjam Pressler

In 2001, in the attic of a home in Basel, Switzerland, a treasure trove of over six thousand documents consisting of letters, photographs, poems, telegrams, drawings and postcards was discovered by Gertrude Elias, wife of Buddy. The historical significance was tremendous due to the fact that all of this correspondence had to do with the Frank family. Buddy Elias was Anne Frank's cousin. His mother, Helene or Leni, as she was known, was Otto Frank's sister.
The Frank family was very close-knit. There were four siblings: three brothers and one sister. They all enjoyed writing letters to each other and were quite good with composing poetry. Even as the family became separated and the children lived elsewhere, they all continued to correspond. Then, World War II began and the letter writing became one-sided. Whatever was sent to Amsterdam was not answered for two years. The Elias family had no idea that Otto Frank, his wife, Edith and their daughters, Anne and Margot were in hiding from the Nazis.
A year and a half later, when the war was over, Otto came to Switzerland for a three-week visit, alone. It was quite a reunion.
Treasures From the Attic is a fascinating read because you learn about the rest of Anne Frank's family that you never knew about. It actually starts with ancestors back in the 1700s (there is an extensive family tree in the back of the book), discusses their lives and how they influenced the generations to come.
When Otto Frank discovered Anne's diary in the Secret Annex and read it, he was stunned. He realized that he never really knew who his daughter was having always treated her like a child. Her diary revealed another side to her: maturity, intelligence, sensitivity and sympathy to all mankind. Otto decided to have the diary published to let the world see the gift that his daughter had.
There are many photographs of the entire family including Anne and Margot when they were young and when they became teenagers. When I look at the girls, I start tearing up. It was such a tragedy. Otto survived while Edith and her daughters were murdered in the concentration camps.
Being able to read the original letters, translated from German into English, you get a rich portrait of what shaped Anne Frank and you get to experience her warm, wonderful, tremendous family.
Recommended.

THE GREATER JOURNEY : AMERICANS IN PARIS
by David McCullough

They came from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Louisiana, Ohio, North Carolina and almost all of the twenty-four states. Having never crossed the Atlantic before, these Americans were determined to have a new and different life in Paris between the years 1830 and 1900. They were almost all men, except for a few intrepid women; some came with their entire families, some came alone. Having accomplished so much, already, in America, their dreams were to be even more successful in the City of Light.
Medical student Oliver Wendell Holmes and Elizabeth Blackwell (the first female doctor in America) would learn from retired practicing doctors attending patients in twelve hospitals; writer James Fenimore Cooper and Samuel F.B. Morse (the best of friends) would go every day to the Louvre where Morse would paint his masterpiece (he didn't come up with the idea of the telegraph until he returned home); the American ambassador Elihu Washburne remained at his post during the Franco-Prussian war and the horrible Siege of Paris when the Germans invaded and kept an incredible diary of these events.
Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gardens, the painters Mary Cassatt (she was from Philadelphia although born in western Pennsylvania) and John Singer Sargent, were three of the greatest American artists ever and would flourish and be greatly accepted by Paris and its people.
Author David McCullough writes about so many people but highlights their brilliance, prowess, and creativity. He really knows how to tell a story. I have learned an incredible amount of history from the time span and the adventures that our countrymen went through. Paris enriched their lives and affected each and every one of them.
There are scores of paintings and sculptures throughout the book (Samuel Morse's painting is astounding) in both color and black-and-white with photographs of artists, historians, the Eiffel Tower, scenes of Paris, etc.
Phenomenal research is on display here. A truly stupendous read.
Very highly recommended.

AN EXCLUSIVE LOVE : A MEMOIR
by Johanna Adorjan

Vera and Istvan were Hungarian Jews who survived the Holocaust (they were both interred at Mauthausen). Istvan never spoke about it when asked. They left Budapest in 1956 due to the Soviet Invasion and went to Denmark. There were many immigrants from Hungary and the Danish citizens welcomed them quite warmly. It seems that Vera and Istvan were quite happy in their new environment and didn't have too much trouble adjusting. They learned the language, acquired a dog named Mitzi, entertained, gardened, and listened to classical music. But all was not to be.
In 1991, the couple was found in their bed, hands entwined. They had committed suicide together.
Granddaughter and author, Johanna Adorjan, tries to reconstruct the last day of their lives. She interviews relatives, friends and neighbors who knew her grandparents much more than she did, herself. Johanna only has fleeting memories.
Istvan was a doctor, Vera a physiotherapist. They did quite well and lived comfortably: a nursemaid for their children, a cook, fancy cars, plenty to eat. This changed when they had to leave Hungary.
Those who knew Istvan said that he was introverted and didn't reveal too much. He absolutely adored his wife and would never do anything contrary to upset her. They were inseparable.
Vera lived for her husband. On the surface, she seemed happy but in reality, she was not and was very insecure thinking that nobody loved her.
When Vera was in her seventies and still quite healthy, her husband, in his eighties, was declining. He was getting worse by the day and his breathing was labored. The thought of living without him was not something she would even consider even though the family invited her to stay with them.
So, the two of them made a pact to commit suicide. Vera bought the book Final Exit which she followed, meticulously. Istvan wrote out the prescription. They gave the dog away. She cleaned the house from top to bottom and baked a cake. The doors were locked. Vera left all the lights on. They were discovered four days later.
Who would have thought that a story about a couple who take their own lives could be so powerful? The way it is written in exquisite, simple prose makes the tale both intense and beautiful. The book is not very long (under 200 pages) and it doesn't take long to read. It's very hard to stop.
Theirs was a quite a romance both in life and in death.
Highly recommended.

AL JAFFEE'S MAD LIFE
by Mary-Lou Weisman

Al Jaffee has been an icon at MAD since 1955 and is still going strong at the age of eighty-nine. The magazine drips with adult hypocrisy and has been read by three generations of American children (including yours truly) and continues to delight many more. Who better to create such satire than Al? His life is pretty much like one large comic strip.
Jaffee's parents were from Lithuania and when they first came to the United States, they lived in New York. Then they moved to Savannah, Georgia because Al's father, Morris, became the manager of a large department store. He did very well, but the same could not be said for his wife, Mildred. She never adjusted.
In 1927, Mildred uprooted all four sons and transported them and herself back to Lithuania. Jaffee was six years old. They went from having indoor plumbing, electricity and plenty of food to eat to a shtetl from the nineteenth-century and had to deal with outhouses, extreme hunger and abuse. Two years later, Morris, would come to rescue them (he lost his job due to the expense of bringing everybody home). In little more than a year, Mildred brought them back again to Lithuania and stayed there for four years. They would return to America without their mother and the youngest son, David.
While in Lithuania, his father would send the boys cartoon strips that left them enthralled. Morris was talented in his own right (too bad he didn't use it). He could replicate anything that he saw. His two oldest sons inherited his incredible artistic gift.
When Al came back to America, for good, it was quite an adjustment. He spoke with a Yiddish accent and was constantly ridiculed. The teachers saw his amazing abilities, though, and when he attended New York City's High School of Music and Art, his life changed for the best.
Somehow, Jaffee retained his tremendous sense of humor all through his tumultuous childhood and beyond.
What a story! Amidst such angst and suffering, there is plenty to laugh at. The entire book is illustrated by Jaffee so you can see what he went through in his artwork. The pages are very heavy and glossy but it's well worth it to see what he produced. Truly outstanding, very visual, and with meticulous detail, the pictures literally jump out at you.
It's a very fast read (I finished the book in two days) and the author did a tremendous job in her biography of a man who survived a horrendous, dysfunctional life and still came out ahead.
Recommended.

IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS : LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN
by Erik Larson

William E. Dodd was a mild-mannered professor at the University of Chicago from 1909 to 1933. He loved history and was an authority on the American South. Eventually he hoped to finish a four-volume series, but time constraints and duties always got in the way. Dodd felt that he was stagnating at the university and thought that his career needed an uplift. He got it. Franklin D. Roosevelt chose Dodd to be America's first ambassador to Germany in 1933.
The entire family goes: Dodd, his wife, Mattie, his son, Bill, and his daughter, Martha. Dodd is a very humble man and prefers to not to live in a luxurious environment. He is so frugal that he brings over his old Chevy from America but will never drive it. Dodd leaves that to his son. He prefers to walk to work every day and he is constantly teased about that from his staffers. Their residence is a mansion with four floors (the family lives in the first three) and it's actually quite beautiful.
While Dodd is acclimating himself to Germany (he speaks the language fluently), his daughter, Martha, is totally enamored by the country and its inhabitants. She has no morals, goes to many parties and has one affair after the other, one of which will be with Rudolf Diels, the chief of the Gestapo. She will become quite an embarrassment to the family and the German government who keep tabs on her.
That first year will become quite pivotal because that is when Hitler becomes chancellor. Subtly and then, not so subtly, the climate changes as freedoms are restricted, rules are enforced, Americans are attacked for not bearing the Hitler salute, Jews are persecuted, the press is censored and new frightening laws are instituted.
In the Garden of Beasts is quite a tremendous story. I was riveted from the first page to the last. You get a true glimpse of what Berlin was like at that period of time.
Erik Larson fleshes out the weird and dangerous personalites of Hitler, Goring and Goebbels in such a way, that it literally makes you shudder.
I thought the title of the book was very appropriate. The family lived across the street from the Tiergarten, a beautiful park, which was really the only place anybody could go and not be watched and to have a private conversation. The name means "animal garden" or "garden of the beasts." Yet, all of Berlin would become paralyzed from the Nazis, the SS, and the Storm Troopers who would behave like monstrous beasts and terrorize the citizens.
Truly a superb narrative of a horrible time in history brilliantly written.
Very highly recommended.

SACRED TREASURE, THE CAIRO GENIZAH : THE AMAZING DISCOVERIES OF FORGOTTEN JEWISH HISTORY IN AN EGYPTIAN SYNAGOGUE ATTIC
by Mark Glickman

In Jewish law, it is forbidden to discard any sacred document. Words are powerful, especially those of the Torah. They must be handled with great care. In order to preserve Hebrew books and papers, they should be kept in a repository, such as a designated room in a synagogue called a genizah. Whatever was kept here would be safe, even though they were unusable. Originally, only documents bearing the names of God were allowed then any document with Hebrew on it.
From the tenth through the nineteenth centuries, the Ben Ezra Synagogogue, in Cairo (a Jewish community thrived and flourished here back in the day), stored an amazing collection of sacred scraps. It was a dark room in the attic. Scarcely anybody knew that these papers existed.
If it wasn't for Rabbi Solomon Schecter, the importance of what he found would have completely disintegrated in a matter of time.
Some of the incredible finds were: early copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls; the last letter to Moses Maimonides from his brother David who was lost at sea; twelfth century Jewish sheet music composed by an Italian priest who converted to Judaism; the list continues.
Sacred Treasure is one fascinating gem of a book. Mark Glickman keeps your interest from the beginning to the very last page. He reveals some really startling facts about early Jewish life that is a contradiction to what is written today in modern Jewish history, who picked up the torch from Schecter to carry on the genizah research, the scholars who wrote and published works on their discoveries, the preservationists and their methods trying to prevent parchment from crumbling into dust, and the digitization that would provide instant access to people from all over the world to instantly see ancient manscripts on the Internet.
Truly a remarkable account of a forgotten and little known period in history and a terrific read.
Recommended.

MY FATHER'S FORTUNE : A LIFE
by Michael Frayn

Tom Frayn was an ordinary man who lived his life extraordinarily. He grew up in a house consisting of two rooms with six other people all of whom were extremely deaf in North London. Tom left school at the age of fourteen and became an asbestos salesman. Everyone liked him. He was smart, quick on his feet, used very interesting vocabulary and had an enchanting smile.
In a few years, he is married and then a son and a daughter are born. By the time he is middle-aged, he has lost his hearing.
Tom pulled himself out of poverty and became a self-made man. He was not much for emotions and kept his feelings to himself. Through all of his trials and tribulations, he never once complained.
My Father's Fortune is a beautiful tribute to a humble, hardworking man who never asked for much and always made do with what he had. It's both funny and sad and the writing is terrific.
Highly recommended.

THE EICHMANN TRIAL
by Deborah E. Lipstadt

It was the trial of the century. All over the world, newspapers printed the event on their front pages. In May 1960, Adolph Eichmann was captured by the Mossad in Argentina and brought to Israel to be tried. When Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced this news to members of the Knesset, there was, at first, stunned silence and then joyful celebration.
Professor Deborah E. Lipstadt, a renowned Holocaust historian (she was sued for libel by Holocaust denier David Irving), writes about how Eichmann was discovered in the first place, how he was kidnapped and debunks Simon Wiesenthal's claims that he was the one responsible for helping in his capture.
In Lipstadt's analysis, she writes about the arguements over what country the trial should take place in, whether survivors should testify, the languages that were spoken, the attorneys for the prosecution and the defense, the judges (three of them) who would make their own decisions, and Eichmann, himself, who came across as ordinary looking.
Hannah Arendt would write articles for the New Yorker and the critics' responses were all over the place: magnificent, outstanding, claptrap, half-truths, brilliant, inaccurate, etc. She almost caused more controversy than the trial itself.
Though a small book, The Eichmann Trial is steeped in facts and evidence. Lipstadt clarifies and examines all that went on during this tumultuous time.
An important read of a horrendous time in history that must not be forgotten.
Recommended.

ALMOST A FAMILY : A MEMOIR
by John Darnton

John never knew who his father was and his brother, Robert only had faint memories.
Byron Darnton was killed in World War II. He was a war correspondent (known to everyone as Barney) for The New York Times. Why a man with a wife and two very young sons (eleven months and two years old) would leave them to go overseas and report on the fighting, at the age of forty-four, had many people scratching their heads. The soldiers on the ship that he was on couldn't understand why he was there with them. (Barney had permission to join the forces.) John's mother tried to regroup and give her children a life worth remembering. She often spoke of Barney as this larger-than-life hero who was held in such high esteem.
When John Darnton retired from working at The New York Times (yes, he followed in his father's footsteps) in 2006, he decided, with his brother, to investigate their parents' past.
Almost a Family socks you in the jaw. It is such a powerful story. The writing is absolutely superb. Darnton has such a way with words that for much of the book, you are kept on the edge of your seat. The truth about his father is a real eye-opener.
Get this book. You won't be disappointed.
Very highly recommended.

MURIEL'S WAR : AN AMERICAN HEIRESS IN THE NAZI RESISTANCE
by Sheila Isenberg

Do you remember when Lillian Hellman wrote Pentimiento back in the early 1970s? It was a collection of stories that included a portrait of a woman named "Julia" who was purported to be a friend of Hellman's. "Julia" was involved with the Austrian resistance during World War II. Hellman never knew this woman, was never a friend of hers yet she took the liberty of borrowing a life to write about it to make herself look good. Luckily, the real woman had more class.
Muriel Gardiner was born into wealth. The family of Swift and Morris were involved in the meatpacking industry in Chicago. Muriel did not know anything about the business; nobody at home ever talked about it. When she was twelve, her father died and Muriel became a millionaire inheriting $3 million (this was in 1913). By the time she went off to college and entered Wellesley, she disengaged herself from her life of luxuries. When Muriel graduated, she took a trip to Europe, studied at Oxford and then went to medical school at the University of Vienna. She became interested in psychoanalysis and although she never met Sigmund Freud, she went into therapy with a protege of his. War clouds were gathering by this time and when Hitler marched into Austria, Muriel began to help both Jews and anti-Fascists escape using both her unlimited stores of money and connections. She risked her life many times, but she had incredible courage. When she left Europe for New York, she continued to help rescue hundreds of people still trapped behind enemy lines.
Muriel Gardiner was an incredibly selfless woman and quite a hero to everyone she saved. She kept on giving to others until the day she died. Muriel financed education for aspiring students, bought homes for people in need, paid for vacations for friends and relatives; the list goes on.
Although she rebelled against her family for their wealth, she finally realized that by having an inordinate amount of money she could accomplish much more by passing it on to others in dire straits.
Sheila Isenberg has produced a book about a virtually unknown woman and has done a terrific job. Her writing is fluid and absorbing. Between the extensive number of people she interviewed who knew Muriel, the amount of archives she perused (twenty-six pages of Notes) and over one hundred books and articles, Isenberg has brought the tale of a very gutsy woman into the limelight.
Not many libraries own this book. (Pennsylvania has four copies.) I made a special request at my local library having read about it on the Internet. It's worth your while to read it.
Recommended.

THE GOOD DAUGHTER : A MEMOIR OF MY MOTHER'S HIDDEN LIFE
by Jasmin Darznik

It all started with a photograph. The young girl pictured was thirteen years old and she was wearing a wedding veil. She was none too happy to start a life with a man that she barely knew who was so much older than her. It was common for the families to have these arranged marriages.
Jasmin Darznik found this photo when she was helping her mother, Lili move into a new abode in California. When Jasmin showed her mother the photograph, Lili refused to say anything. Six months later, the first tape (there would be ten, altogether) arrived in the mail and Lili's story of her previous life in Iran was revealed. It was quite tumultuous.
Males are favored much more than females in that kind of society. They are fawned over and treated like royalty and can do no wrong. The opposite sex, in the minds of the men, are only good for being a domestic servant and the earlier they are married off, the better.
And, so it was with Lili. When she was eleven years old and going to school, she was spotted by a man who decided that she was going to be his wife. (He was twenty-six at the time.) Two years later, barely an adolescent, the ceremony takes place. Lili has a daughter, Sara, at fourteen. Her life is a living hell. She is granted a divorce but is not allowed to take her daughter.
Lili goes back to school, which had been interrupted, and she soon goes to Germany to join her brother and studies to be a midwife. Her plan is to be able to support herself, go back to Iran and finally be a parent to Sara. Things don't always happen the way you want them to.
What an incredible book! I read it in two days mainly because I just could not put it down. Jasmin writes so beautifully about the women in her family and what they went through in their own personal lives.
The Good Daughter perfectly captures Iranian culture via its delectable food, the living arrangements amongst families, the age-old traditions and the inner strengths of females who are continually abused and yet always seem to rise above it.
The story captivated me until the very last page.
Highly recommended.

THE LAST GREATEST MAGICIAN IN THE WORLD : HOWARD THURSTON VERSUS HOUDINI & THE BATTLES OF THE AMERICAN WIZARDS
by Jim Steinmeyer

"I wouldn't deceive you for the world" was a sentence that was uttered by Howard Thurston at every one of his magic performances. What the audiences saw were so complex and spectacular that they were left spellbound and completely mystified.
Thurston was a contemporary of Harry Houdini but their accomplishments were quite different. Houdini was known as an escape artist and Thurston was an illusionist. Their personalites were also disparate. Houdini was brazen and overbearing and Thurston was a true showman with a mellifluous speaking voice, who charmed both children and adults and was much more refined (at least on stage).
Thurston started his career in vaudeville performing card tricks. He soon left it behind because he wanted to expand his act and make it into one incredible extravaganza with all kinds of apparatus and multiple costumes.
For thirty years he toured all over Europe and the United States. The public couldn't get enough of him. When Hollywood started making films (a different kind of magic) that was the beginning of the end.
The Last Greatest Magician in the World is a fascinating story of a man who is considered legendary to the magicians today but virtually unknown to the rest of us. The author is no slouch in this department as he is a designer of magic illusion and has quite a portfolio. (You can read about him on www.jimsteinmeyer.com.) He describes how the illusions were performed and what went on backstage with the preparations in building everything.
You are introduced to scores of other magicians, in the book, and the rivalry that went on amongst them all.
There are some great black-and-white photographs of Thurston doing his magic, his family and fellow magicians that gives you a true flavor of the past.
A great read.
Recommended.

THE WITNESS HOUSE : NAZIS AND HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS SHARING A VILLA DURING THE NUREMBERG TRIALS
by Christiane Kohl

When the Nuremberg trials were about to begin, in 1945, the people who were testifying needed a place to stay. The Americans requisitioned a house (the owner and her son had to sleep in the basement) and supplied all of the food. Due to the tenuous and strained circumstances (Germans high up in the hierachy and former Holocaust survivors) somebody had to come in and manage the household. Countess Ingeborg Kalnoky took the task and was able to keep everything running smoothly even though the tension was extreme.
Some people stayed for a couple of days, while others stayed for weeks. When they left, they signed a visitor's book. There were soldiers posted outside the villa. A few of the guests were under house arrest and not allowed to leave the premises. One such man was Rudolf Diels, who was the former head of the Gestapo. (All of the women found him quite charming.) Journalists, lawyers, resistance members, Goring's private secretary, Hitler's personal photographer and the Messerschmidt airplane constructor were just some of the fascinating folks that resided at the house.
I have read plenty of books on the Holocaust but I've never seen a story quite like this one before. How everyone lived together in close circumstances under one roof and were civil to one another is amazing in itself.
The author, who is German, found out about the "witness house" from her parents' boarder (he had been an interpreter during the trials) and was shown the visitors' book with all kinds of comments. She became intrigued and wanted to know more and by doing quite a bit of research was able to create a tale that almost seems more like fiction than fact.
The Witness House is quite a book. There are some great photographs of the guests, the villa, the Countess, the courtroom, Himmler, Goring, etc.
A very good and different read.
Recommended.

THE ENVOY : THE EPIC RESCUE OF THE LAST JEWS OF EUROPE IN THE DESPERATE CLOSING MONTHS OF WORLD WAR II
by Alex Kershaw

Hungary was the last country, in 1944, where Adolf Eichmann planned to finish off his duty by sending the rest of the Jews to extermination camps. In just a couple of months, Eichmann had already deported half a million people to the gas chambers in Auschwitz. Before he could carry it out though, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg arrived in Budapest to rescue the Jews that remained. He issued "Schutzpasses" (safe passage passes) and was able to save thousands this way. Wallenberg defied Eichmann, the other Nazis and the violent Arrow Cross and risked his own life for the safety of others. When the war was finally over, Wallenberg was arrested by the Soviets and disappeared into the gulag.
Eichmann fled and headed towards Austria. Eventually, he was captured by American soldiers who had no idea that they were holding a mass murderer (he used a false name) and was shunted around for two years in various POW camps. He escaped in 1947, got a passport and went to Argentina. Many years later, after much hunting and investigation, Eichmann was brought to Israel for trial. Justice was finally achieved.
Wallenberg was never found. His parents spent years trying to find him writing letters to Stalin and other leaders. Nobody really knows what happened to him except the Soviets and they're mum on that fact.
The Envoy is a terrific, riveting story of two men, one who was quite evil (although he said that he was only following orders) and another who had incredible courage and in the eyes of the survivors, a tremendous hero.
I have read many books on the Holocaust and about these two particular men. There's new information here (some quite startling) that I've never seen before. Alex Kershaw brings everything together, quite smoothly, from all of his sources (both documentation and interviews) for one exciting read.
Highly recommended.

AMERICAN ROSE : A NATION LAID BARE : THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GYPSY ROSE LEE
by Karen Abbott

She was born with the name Ellen June but then when her sister was born, a few years later, the names were switched. When Mama Rose laid eyes on her newest child with those big, beautiful blue eyes and curls in abundance, she named her June (she would always be a baby in her mother's eyes). The eldest daughter would be named Rose Louise.
The two girls spent their childhood performing on the stage doing vaudeville. Baby June could do everything: sing, dance, act. Louise was the complete opposite. (She was creative, though, and made all of the costumes.)
Rose wanted everything for her children. She worked them to the bone (mostly June). Her tantrums with directors, producers and the like became legendary. With her daughters, she could either be loving or a raving lunatic. Eventually, June had a nervous breakdown (at the age of twelve) and two years later, she left the act and eloped.
Attention is now drawn to Louise. She didn't have any talent, wasn't terribly attractive, was overweight, but she did have long legs and the gift of gab. All Rose cared about was making money so she scouted around for someplace that would make her daughter a star. Vaudeville was pretty much dead and the only other option was burlesque. Enter "Gypsy Rose Lee."
What an amazing story! It took author Karen Abbott three years to write (one of her interviews was with Louise's sister June Havoc two years before she died).
All I ever knew about Gypsy Rose Lee was the musical that I saw as a child with Ethel Merman playing the mother's role. (The show was based on Gypsy's memoir and most of that stuff was invented.) A young girl with no talent reinvented herself to become the biggest star that America had ever seen. She hid behind this persona and it totally enveloped her.
The book captures the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, vaudeville, the Great Depression, the seedier side of life, and a whole cast of characters: Fanny Brice, Jimmy Walker, Fiorello LaGuardia, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, et al.
Running parallel to this cultural history, Abbott delves into the four Minsky brothers who brought burlesque to the people.
Spectacular pictures are scattered throughout the book and takes you back to that era.
It was quite a life and the writing transports you there. Meticulous research and nuanced details makes for an exciting read.
Highly recommended.

THE MEMORY PALACE : A MEMOIR
by Mira Bartok

Norma Herr was destined for Carnegie Hall. She was a child prodigy of the piano. By the age of nineteen, she was struck with schizophrenia and Chopin was erased by madness. Norma loved her two daughters but her mental state made her, more and more, impossible to be around (she had a fear of them being raped, kidnapped, or murdered and would incessantly say that to them). No father was around (he had left when the children were quite young).
When the girls went to college, their mother's badgering did not cease. Norma would call at any time, show up at their residences or jobs and threaten sucide if they did not return home to her.
Finally, when it all became just too unbearable, Mira and her sister Rachel severed contact with their mother and changed their names to harbor their safety. (Mira's first name had been Myra and Rachel became Natalia.)
Seventeen years later, the daughters reconcile with their mother who is dying.
What a magnificent story! Mira Bartok writes in such lyrical prose. It's absolutely gorgeous. She is an artist and at the beginning of each chapter, Mira has painted an object that has to do with some aspect of the text. From Chapter 3 to the end are diary entries written by her mother. You see the brilliance with lucid moments and you also see the craziness.
Through art, writing, travel (Italy, Norway, Israel), the harrowing memories of living with insanity are revealed.
The book is honest, powerful and disturbing. Don't miss it.
Very highly recommended.

THE DISCOVERY OF JEANNE BARET : A STORY OF SCIENCE, THE HIGH SEAS, AND THE FIRST WOMAN TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE GLOBE
by Glynis Ridley

Herb women, through the centuries, have possessed an infinite knowledge of the curative powers of plants. Many educated men were unwilling to learn from them (call it pride) even though male botanists, druggists, and physicians relied on the supply of herbs to keep them in business. One botanist, the eminent Philibert Commerson would intentionally seek out local herb women due to his endless passion of flora. (He would acquire a medical degree but then would leave the profession and immerse himself totally in the field of plants much to his father's distress.)
In 1765, Commerson was asked to join an expedition which would be known as the first French circumnavigation of the world. As he would be collecting a vast array of resources, he would need an assistant.
Jeanne Baret, a twenty-six-year-old herb woman who had met Commerson, worked and lived with him (she became his mistress), wanted to join the voyage. Women were not allowed so she disguised herself as a young teenage boy and joined the crew of 330 men.
How a poor working-class woman survived amongst suspicious crewmates (a pistol always at her side) with some real interesting characters aboard the ship makes for one hell of a story. She, more than Commerson, would contribute more to botany than he would even though, as a woman, those findings would be dismissed or written out of history. A newly discovered notebook written in Baret's own handwriting has proven that she was a scientist in her own right. (One of her discoveries would be the bougainvillea which was named after the commander of the ship.)
Through scrupulous research author Glynis Ridley has pulled a virtual unknown botanist from the original journals of French naval officers and published works to the forefront.
Truly the first woman to sail around the world, Baret had an incredible amount of courage, strength and stamina to persevere through all kinds of trials.
A great read.
Recommended.

THE SECRET OF CHANEL NO. 5 : THE INTIMATE HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PERFUME
by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Within the fragance industry, it's known as le monstre: the monster. For ninety-one years, this particular perfume has had a life of its own. Considered to be the world's most seductive scent and bought by millions, Chanel No. 5 is known as the most famous and successful perfume ever created. The brilliant, flawed woman who created it would be unbelievably wealthy until the end of her life.
Gabrielle Chanel grew up as an orphan (her mother had died of tuberculosis) in a convent for girls. It was not a happy time for her, but it would define her future. Here, in Aubazine, France is where she learned to sew, where her keen scent took root (smells of cleanliness and flowers abounded), and where numbers were mystical to her (numerology was embedded in the ancient architecture).
At the age of eighteen, Gabrielle left the small village for the big city of Moulins (near Paris) and began work as a shopgirl and seamstress. She started meeting men who took her out to the cabarets which were pretty provocative. Gabrielle loved the shows so much that she decided to make a career of it herself. Her famous nickname, Coco, would be coined at this time. Soon enough, Coco Chanel would meet the first of many lovers (most supported her financially) who let her open up her own shop making hats and ten years later this less than astute businesswoman would launch Chanel No. 5.
What a terrific story! It's hard to believe that a perfume could be so interesting, but in Mazzeo's deft writing, you can't stop reading. Why the number five was used, how the scent was determined, where the specific elements were to be found, who made the formula and several pages discussing the chemistry of fragrance molecules called aldehydes keeps your eyes fixated on the pages.
While the perfume was exemplary, Coco Chanel was embroiled in controversies. During WWII, she had a Nazi lover and was accused of being a collaborator (Coco was a virulent anti-Semite). How ironic that she would sign away her rights to two Jewish brothers (Les Parfums Chanel) so that the perfume could be marketed in America and elsewhere.
A great tale that is not to be missed.
Highly recommended.

NOTHING LEFT TO BURN : A MEMOIR
by Jay Varner

Denton Varner was a volunteer fire chief in McVeytown, Pennsylvania. Everyone in the community knew him. He was thought of as a hero. His dedication to the fire department was extraordinary. Before his family, that came first. Denton's priorities were screwed up. When his pager sounded, off he went whether he had been eating dinner, working or sleeping. His family thought that he was obsessed by fire and took incredible risks. Consequently, his son, Jay, never had a father that he could do things with. Fire had some kind of allure for him just as it had for Lucky, Jay's grandfather. Whenever he showed up, Jay always felt uneasy and was afraid of him. He had reason to. Lucky was a serial arsonist.
What a legacy.
Nothing Left to Burn is a powerful memoir. It's both honest and painful. The writing is beautiful. A fast read (only took me two days) because you cannot put this book down. I loved it.
Very highly recommended.