GUEST OF HONOR : BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, THEODORE ROOSEVELT, AND THE WHITE HOUSE DINNER THAT SHOCKED A NATION
by Deborah Davis

1901 was a pivotal year in the United States. Movies had just come into the fray, steam power was converted to electricity, photographs could be taken with the Kodak "Brownie," and the syncopated rhythms of ragtime music created by Scott Joplin brought people to their feet.
The most startling event, though, was the White House dinner on October 16. President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to dine with him and his family. The next day, news about a former slave eating with the president sent shock waves throughout the country. It was unprecedented. People were outraged and considered the whole thing scandalous.
Guest of Honor is much more than a dinner. Deborah Davis writes about the aftermath of the Civil War (the rampant racism in the South), politics, American history and the lives of these two men. They actually had quite a lot in common by pursuing high goals, being involved with public service, and becoming leaders. They had the greatest respect for one another and kept up a running correspondence advising each other on different matters.
This is a terrific book about a little-known part of history. It's an engrossing tale and extremely readable. There's some great tidbits of trivia thrown in, such as the coinage of the phrase "good to the last drop" for Maxwell House coffee. Roosevelt drank tons of coffee and when he had a cup of it in Nashville, Tennessee, he drank it down in one gulp and said, "My, that was good to the last drop." In 1917, the slogan was born.
The book was well-researched and just a delight.
Highly recommended.

PEOPLE WHO EAT DARKNESS : THE TRUE STORY OF A YOUNG WOMAN WHO VANISHED FROM THE STREETS OF TOKYO-AND THE EVIL THAT SWALLOWED HER UP
by Richard Lloyd Parry

Lucie Blackman was a tall, blonde, twenty-one year old who moved to Tokyo from London in May of 2000. She went with her best friend, Louise Phillips. The two of them had known each other since the age of thirteen. They were working as stewardesses for British Airways. Lucie loved her job, at first, due to all of the international cities that she was able to see. But then the hours got to her and her pay was pretty dismal. She began to incur debt and couldn't seem to climb out of it. When Louise's older sister, Emma, told the girls about how they could earn a great deal of money by working in Tokyo, they jumped on it. Their jobs would be "bar hostesses" which basically meant lighting the customers' cigarettes, pouring them drinks, listening to them talk. They told their parents that they would be living with Louise's aunt rent-free. They figured this would placate them. The only thing was that the Japanese aunt did not live in Tokyo but in south London. Instead, the girls got a room at the Sasaki House which was a guesthouse for foreigners. It was pretty disgusting. Within a few days, Lucie and Louise were working at a nightclub called Casablanca. Everyone liked the two girls but especially Lucie. She was happy with the job and got along quite well with the customers (salarymen). In order to bring the men back to the club, all of the hostesses were told to collect their business cards, and to telephone and e-mail them. The girls had to go on dinner dates (dohan) with men (whether they liked them or not) and it was mandatory. It was on one of these dates that Lucie disappeared.
People Who Eat Darkness is quite a masterpiece of writing. It took the author ten years to gather up all the information needed and he did one hell of a job. The book is quite a page-turner. In three days I read the entire thing (434 pages). It's dark, creepy, chilling and you just cannot tear your eyes away. True crime at its best.
Very highly recommended.

BIRDSEYE : THE ADVENTURES OF A CURIOUS MAN
by Mark Kurlansky

Although he was known as "the father of frozen foods," Clarence Birdseye had many other interests and by the time he died had two hundred patents. He was considered an eccentric inventor and the neighborhood kids loved to watch him create. An electric sunlamp, a harpoon for whales, a reflective lightbulb, and paper made from leftover pulp from sugar plants are just a few of his inventions. Birdseye had an insatiable curiosity and always wanted to solve problems. If something didn't work right, he would figure out how to improve it. Garages and basements (even the front lawn) were his laboratories where he built his contraptions.
Birdseye was an avid hunter who ate anything and enjoyed writing about it. Today he would be considered a "foodie" except that he would eat things that most people wouldn't, such as: chipmunk, rattlesnake, gophers, etc. Birdseye loved to cook, was a naturalist, a taxidermist, and enjoyed fishing. To him, life was one big adventure.
In 1912, Birdseye went to Labrador, Canada to work as a fur trapper. Food was difficult because nothing was fresh but preserved heavily in salt. As this was a problem, his mind started thinking and he began experimenting with vegetables. By leaving them outside in the frigid cold, the vegetables froze and when they were thawed, the freshness was still there.
Birdseye's next big job was working for the U.S. Fisheries Association. He developed the patented freezing process by using a bucket of brine and a fan to keep fish fresh. He was off and running and started the Birdseye company.
What a tremendous book. Birdseye's personality virtually jumps off the pages. He truly was an amazing man and really enjoyed living life to its fullest. Author Mark Kurlansky has written a fantastic biography of a man who changed the way people ate.
Very highly recommended.

MIDNIGHT IN PEKING : HOW THE MURDER OF A YOUNG ENGLISHWOMAN HAUNTED THE LAST DAYS OF OLD CHINA
by Paul French

Peking in 1937 was a wealthy city. Out of a population of one and half million people, two thousand were foreigners. They congregated in an area called the Legation Quarter which is where the embassies and consulates were. Within the huge gates, it could have been Europe: clubs, hotels, bars, jewelers, bakeries, bookshops, etc. Outside of it were opium dens, brothels, and an unsavory underworld. The Japanese were circling planning to take over and the residents were quite fearful. In this midst, a young woman is murdered. It is appalling and gruesome. Her body is mutilated with internal organs ripped out.
Two detectives, Colonel Han Shih-ching and Richard Dennis (he trained at Scotland Yard), collaborate together to try and solve the case.
Paul French has written an incredible book. It took him seven years of research from both the archives of China and England. It's fascinating reading about pre-Communist China. For true-crime, it can't get much better. Midnight in Peking is impossible to put down (I read it in two days). If you want suspense, it will be delivered.
Very highly recommended.

THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN : A MUSLIM BOY MEETS THE WEST
by Imran Ahmad

Imran Ahmad was born in Pakistan but one year later he and his parents moved to England in the early 1960s. Jobs were scarce in Karachi and the British government were encouraging migration. It was a rude awakening. Imran's parents were educated professionals but not in the eyes of the English. To them, they were lower-class manual workers and if they accepted this, it was the only way that they could acquire jobs. It was this defined class system that Imran, a Muslim, grew up in.  As a young boy and beyond, he's anxious to fit in. Imran is constantly confused about many things. He's proud of his Islamic identity but he always seeks the truth and so religion is a constant factor.
Imran plans on going to medical school but his grades aren't good enough. He ends up at Stirling University in Scotland majoring in chemistry. Imran does quite well with it. Now his goal is to meet women and the best way (in his mind) to do that is to be cool, suave, and extremely well-dressed (think James Bond). Also a car would help (Jaguar XJS) but he settles for an Alfa Romeo.
Eventually chemistry doesn't do it for him and he starts reading up on recruitment brochures. He sees pictures of people in business suits which really impresses him. Imran convinces Unilever to hire him and begins working in finance and then management consulting which takes him all over the world.
The Perfect Gentleman is not your conventional memoir. It's written quite differently. Each chapter has a title which signifies some kind of event that happened to him or something that was quite significant, a two-year spread, and his age. They are short comprising only a couple of pages.
The book is extremely readable and thought-provoking. Imran Ahmad is honest, direct, funny, sensitive and his writing showcases his personality and emotions. The prose is beautiful. If you want a clear-cut description of Islam, get this book.
Highly recommended.

THAT WOMAN : THE LIFE OF WALLIS SIMPSON DUCHESS OF WINDSOR
by Anne Sebba

She was born in a hotel at a summer resort in 1896. Her birth name was Bessiewallis Warfield. While at school, she would change her name to Wallis. She never knew her father because he died five months after she was born. For most of her childhood, Wallis lived with her grandmother in Baltimore. Because of her destitute upbringing, Wallis always strove to rise above it. It was her wits that eventually brought her to the attention of the Prince of Wales. She certainly was not beautiful nor pretty and was not too smart, either. Wallis knew how to flatter and build up the person to make them think they were the one and only. The Prince found her very amusing and then became obsessed by her. Wallis thought that the relationship was not going to last and that it was just going to be a mild flirtation. Of course, he showered her with magnificent jewels and gifts. She loved that the most. Many times, she would escape alone to be away from the Prince because she found being around him too claustrophobic. The Royal Family wanted nothing to do with her and tried to persuade him to leave her but he refused.
He would have been King but Wallis could never have been the Queen, so he abdicated to marry her and they were given the titles the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
There has been much speculation on Wallis to the point that nobody really knows much about her. Even her birth certificate doesn't exist. She was always very secretive and was not forthcoming on saying anything about herself. What is known is that Wallis was a golddigger and wasn't in love with the Duke. He was a petulant child (she called him "little man") and she treated him that way privately and publicly. They were made for one another. 
That Woman was an interesting read and the author used letters between Wallis and Edward, National Archives, film, and books. There's plenty of photographs interspersed in the middle of the book.
It's a good biography that reveals much about their character.
Recommended.
 
 

HOUSE OF STONE : A MEMOIR OF HOME, FAMILY, AND A LOST MIDDLE EAST
by Anthony Shadid 

Anthony Shadid was a New York Times reporter who after having been captured in Libya and then freed, returned to Beirut to restore his great-grandfather's ancestral home. Shadid had been raised in Oklahoma City. The family moved there to escape the wars and constant strife. The home is a shambles and he uses artisans to recreate what was with beautiful mosaic tiles called "cemento."
Shadid writes about his family that once lived in Beirut, their flight to America, a country torn apart. The natives think that he is crazy to restore a home that they believe doesn't legally belong to him.
The writing is beautiful and though there are no pictures to showcase the house, just from reading his descriptions you can see the home spring back to life.
The greatest tragedy is, unfortunately, that Shadid is no longer around to enjoy his new/old home. He died in February of 2012 at the age of forty-four. 
So, we have spectacular visions of the Middle East from the past and the present but the writer has disappeared from the pages.
An absolutely stunning book.
Highly recommended.