USEFUL ENEMIES : JOHN DEMJANJUK AND AMERICA'S OPEN-DOOR POLICY FOR NAZI WAR CRIMINALS
by Richard Rashke

Since John "Iwan" Demjanjuk was involved with war crimes trials for thirty-four years ending in 2011, there have been no more major Nazis called to testify for their atrocities committed during World War II. Most of them are probably dead anyway or too ill and senile.
Demjanjuk was the government's scapegoat. He was really a minor cog in the wheel and his ordeal became long, exhausting, and frustrating: two denaturalization trials, two deportation hearings, two extradition hearings, and two criminal trials. The question was, though, was he a collaborator or just trying to survive? He was subpoenaed by the U.S. Justice Department in 1977 that he had lied on his visa application in 1951 and had illegally entered America the following year.
At the same time that Demjanjuk was being tried in many courtrooms, the good old U.S. of A. was employing and protecting Nazis and Nazi collaborators. Why? Because it was during the Cold War and the U.S. military wanted to recruit "useful" Nazi war criminals to work for the United States as spies, to inform their new bosses who was a Communist and to try and impede it. INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) created loopholes in their policy of who could enter and who could not. (This would be the same policy that prevented thousands of Jewish refugees to come to America.)
Besides the Departments of War and State who trained the Nazis, the White House, the FBI, and the CIA were all involved and worked their butts off to hide, protect and shelter these criminals from those who were investigating them.
Talk about hypocrisy and deceit.
The war criminals that came from the Eastern Bloc countries were despicable. Richard Rashke writes in harrowing detail the horrors that these people committed on the Jews. It's extremely disturbing that these monsters were welcomed in America and they lived as free men when they should have been prosecuted and done away with.
For a 500-plus page tome, the book is extremely readable. Quite an impressive amount of startling research (50 pages of Sources and Notes). In case you can't remember all of the details (and there's plenty), a Timeline is offered.
Useful Enemies is an eye-opener. Anybody who is interested in the Holocaust (there's been plenty written about this subject but not to this extent) should not hesitate.
This book is a standout.
Very highly recommended.

ALONE ON THE ICE : THE GREATEST SURVIVAL STORY IN THE HISTORY OF EXPLORATION
by David Roberts

In Australia, Douglas Mawson is considered the greatest explorer ever in history. He is, though, virtually unknown in the United States. Mawson has been overshadowed by Robert Falcon Scott (there's a whole dearth of books written about him), Sir Ernest Shackleton (he served under his command from 1907-1909), and the infamous Norwegian Roald Amundsen. While these three polar explorers only were interested in reaching the South Pole, Mawson was not. His interest lay in traversing land that nobody had seen before and to collect specimens (he was a geologist).
Eighteen men joined the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) and spent the first year at Cape Denison in a hut (Winter Quarters). They then were divided into three-man sledging parties so that they could all explore different regions. Two thousand miles of land south of Australia was what they hoped to cover. Thirty-two Eskimo huskies were brought along to haul the sledges. By 1913, they were all gone. Mawson's Far Eastern Party had the most arduous and dangerous trek. Two of his men died leaving him alone to survive and return to the base.
Alone On the Ice is a tremendous tale of endurance, strength, and determination. What these men went through and what happened to Mawson is unbelievable. Author, David Roberts, was able to use diaries that have never been seen before to lay out the story and the exploits. He is a master in writing books about mountaineering and exploration. One of his previous books "Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of  Legendary Wilderness Explorer" was reviewed in this blog and that was fantastic.
Sir Edmund Hillary praised Mawson's solo journey as "the greatest story in polar exploration." Mawson is no longer behind those other explorers; he is standing way in front of them.
Highly recommended.

THE HOUR OF PERIL : THE SECRET PLOT TO MURDER LINCOLN BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
by Daniel Stashower

What is truly amazing is that Abraham Lincoln received enough electoral votes to become President of the United States in 1861. The amount of hostilities towards him from the southern states was monumental. Maryland was considering seceding from the Union (seven other states had already done so) which would cut off Washington from the North. Warnings of danger grew daily and cash was being offered to anyone who would assassinate Lincoln before he took the oath of office.  It was within this maelstrom that famed detective Allan Pinkerton, over thirteen days, would attempt to thwart the "Baltimore Plot" along with his other operatives.
The Hour of Peril is one fantastic read. It's most definitely a page-turner. This is another one of those untold tales from the Civil War that makes you shake your head in disbelief.
The characters involved, the controversies, the secrecy that was needed, the disguises and false names that were used, the conflicts that could have disrupted everything, keeps you glued to your seat.
If you have any doubts as to how much Lincoln was despised, here's an interesting tidbit. James Ryder Randall, who was from Baltimore, wrote a poem called "Maryland, My Maryland." It depicts Lincoln as being a tyrant and for Maryland to stand with the Confederacy. The poem was soon set to music (the tune of "O Tannenbaum"), became hugely popular and was adopted as the official state song and still is to this day.
Author, Daniel Stashower, is a superb writer (check out his other books) and if you are a history buff and are a fan of Abraham Lincoln, grab this one. You won't be disappointed.
Very highly recommended.

MARMEE & LOUISA : THE UNTOLD STORY OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT AND HER MOTHER
by Eve LaPlante

When Louisa May Alcott died on March 6, 1888, at the age of fifty-five, she was the most popular author in the country. She was quite prolific having written twenty-four novels, hundreds of stories, and articles for newspapers and magazines. Little Women would make her quite wealthy and brought her family out of poverty. It was always assumed that Bronson Alcott, Louisa's father, was the source behind her brilliance, that he was the one who influenced her to write. Author, Eve LaPlante, who is the niece of Louisa and the great-niece of Abigail, discovered from reading family correspondence that it was Abigail who nurtured Louisa and encouraged her to write.
Abigail was a writer in her own right and her diaries and letters display her beautiful prose. She worked to abolish slavery, fought for women to be educated (she, herself was a teacher), to have the right to vote, and to elevate themselves in society. Louisa mined her mother's writings and used them for her fiction. When she had her first book published at sixteen years of age, she dedicated it to Abigail. The two of them were so intertwined that they became each other's support especially when Bronson was absent from their home for months at a time. He was an idealist and didn't believe in supporting the family so they were constantly begging for money from relatives. Louisa vowed to always provide for her mother and be there for her.
When I was a young girl, I read Little Women a thousand times over. I couldn't get enough of this book. I loved the writing, the characters, the setting.  Marmee & Louisa takes you deep within the Alcotts and you see how they figure into the story. "Marmee" was as vibrant in real life as she was in fiction. Abigail is finally brought out of the shadows and is no longer invisible.
This book is a terrific read and the writing is marvelous. If you're a fan of Louisa May Alcott, you'll absolutely love Marmee & Louisa.
Very highly recommended.

CHANEL BONFIRE : A MEMOIR
by Wendy Lawless

Wendy Lawless and her sister, Robin, grew up with a not-so-normal "mother" (parenting skills were virtually nil with this chick). Georgann Rea loved mink, wore Pucci clothing, had Louis-Vuitton luggage, and always had a lit Dunhill in her cigarette holder. She liked anything in pants and went through men like a box of tissues. Georgann had two husbands and actually kidnapped the daughters away from the second one telling them (lying) that he was no longer interested in them. They took off for London on the QEII and lived in high-end townhouses where it was late night parties all of the time. Georgann craved glamour and wealth. When she would run out of money, it was off to another city to reinvent herself and continue with the same lifestyle.
By the time Wendy was seventeen, she realized that her mother was not exactly normal and was ashamed to bring anyone home. Between the excessive use of alcohol, the back-and-forth mood changes, ugly and disturbing fights, living with Georgann was chaotic. The sisters knew that they had to get out of their toxic and dangerous environment.
Chanel Bonfire is such an appropriate title for this book. Georgann was beautiful, perfumed, stylishly dressed but had a frightening dark side that smoldered. She would have been a good example for psychologists to write about. What is amazing is how the daughters survived through such turmoil.
Wendy writes with searing honesty that, at times, is funny but also sad. It grabs your interest immediately and is a quick read (two days for me). To come out normal from such a dysfunctional family and to be able to write about it without bitterness or hate is remarkable.
Recommended.

THE WATCHMAKER'S DAUGHTER : A MEMOIR
by Sonia Taitz

Simon Taitz was a watchmaker. Known as a master restorer of both watches and clocks, people would come from miles around to seek him out. This skill would save him and others at Dachau. The Germans loved order and punctuality so they gave him their broken timepieces and actually respected his ability.
Gita, Simon's wife, could have been a concert-pianist had the Nazis not ruined her fledgling career. She and her mother survived the concentration camp Stutthof by pretending to be dead among the newly killed corpses when the Germans knew the allies were closing in and wanted to leave nobody alive behind.
It was within this insular environment that Sonia was born. The family lived in Washington Heights in a very small apartment. Yiddish was the language spoken at home. The Holocaust was a never-ending subject. Simon and Gita lived in the past and wanted their daughter to know what happened to their families and themselves over and over again.
Sonia wanted to live the American dream and be independent. When she finally left home to forge new adventures, Simon made her promise to always keep her faith.
There have been many books written on the Holocaust (I have certainly read the gamut) but not any, perhaps, of being the daughter of concentration camp-survivors. The love that Sonia has for her parents, in spite of all their flaws, is truly amazing. She wants them to move forward instead of constantly backwards. Sonia's experiences and the people that she meets opens her parents' eyes and helps them heal.
The Watchmaker's Daughter is extremely moving, sad, funny and gorgeously written. Sonia is quite the wordsmith. Every page is both descriptive and lyrical. I loved this book and didn't want it to end.
Very highly recommended.

MASTER OF THE MOUNTAIN : THOMAS JEFFERSON AND HIS SLAVES
by Henry Wiencek

He was one of our Founding Fathers, a lawyer, a statesman, author of the Declaration of Independence, helping to bring about the Louisiana Purchase. His magnificent mansion, Monticello, was designed and influenced by his many years living in Paris. To many people, he was thought of as the great emancipator. It certainly seemed to start out that way. In the 1770s, he both spoke and wrote about stopping the slave trade. It was even written in the Declaration but then later deleted.
In the next ten to twenty years, Thomas Jefferson changed his tune. Instead of speaking out against it, he became silent. Jefferson realized that he couldn't live without slaves; they're what made things run smoothly at Monticello. Slavery was a huge investment and quite profitable for him. For Jefferson, this was a way to have status and power.
Master of the Mountain has already become very controversial especially among ardent Jefferson supporters. This book flips everything that you think you know about Jefferson upside down. Henry Wiencek used many of Jefferson's papers that have never appeared before. There's so much information and much of it is disturbing but you can't stop reading it. The writing is superb and so was the amount of research done.
This is one book you don't want to miss.
Very highly recommended.