THE TRAGEDY OF BENEDICT ARNOLD : AN AMERICAN LIFE
by Joyce Lee Malcolm 

Benedict Arnold, before he was considered a traitor, was recognized as a brilliant officer on both sides of the Revolutionary War. He was a hero who inspired hundreds of men who served under him. Courageous, daring, he went into battle with his head held high. Yet, all of his honor would disappear when he joined the British side. Arnold abandoned the country that he loved turning against it, forever. Why? Author Joyce Lee Malcolm does a tremendous job in unraveling facts from previous books written about Arnold that were not exactly true or correct. Her in-depth research makes you see the kind of man he really was.
The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold is a fascinating story extremely well written by Joyce Lee Malcolm, who is a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. She is already an accomplished author having written two other books previously.
I never knew anything about Arnold except for hearing over and over again about his traitorous deed. With this book you get a completely different story as both his personal and public life is fastidiously delved into. 
It's definitely an engaging read and will make you think differently about him.
Highly recommended. 

THE ESCAPE ARTISTS : A BAND OF DAREDEVIL PILOTS AND THE GREATEST PRISON BREAK OF THE GREAT WAR
by Neal Bascomb 

The most notorious POW camp during the Great War was Holzminden in Germany. Run by the despicable tyrant Karl Niemeyer, he emphasized over and over again that nobody could EVER escape. The Allied prisoners (most of them airmen) called the camp "Hellminden," and vowed to get out so that they could return to finish the fight. A plan was hatched. They would need disguises, forged documents, would have to create fake walls, and need nerves of steel to dig a tunnel. The inmates who were involved spent months trying to dig their way to freedom. If they could get beyond the watchtowers and the constant patrols, they still had a 150-mile run to reach the Dutch border.
The Escape Artists is a fantastic, nail-biting story that keeps you riveted throughout the entire book. Author, Neal Bascomb is a phenomenal writer (have read several of his previous tomes) and this one is just as good if not better than his other ones. There have been many books written about "The Great Escape" of World War II, but World War I seemed to be lagging behind. Bascomb became interested in this time period by discovering accounts that really inspired him. Luckily for us, from his research, interviews with family members, memoirs, letters. photos, and any ephemera he could find, Bascomb has created a masterpiece.
Very highly recommended. 

CONAN DOYLE FOR THE DEFENSE : THE TRUE STORY OF A SENSATIONAL BRITISH MURDER, A QUEST FOR JUSTICE, AND THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS DETECTIVE WRITER
by Margalit Fox 

Right before Christmas 1908, a very wealthy, old woman was brutally murdered in her Glasgow home in Scotland. The victim, Marion Gilchrist, actually knew that she was going to be killed that particular week.
The following spring, Oscar Slater, a Jewish immigrant from Germany who had recently arrived in Glasgow, was tried and convicted for the crime. This case would be known as the Scottish Dreyfus affair. Slater would end up in in this horrible prison where he was consigned to do hard labor.
Arthur Conan Doyle was incensed by this injustice and for the last twenty years of his life he would scour the transcripts of the trial, read newspaper accounts, and witnesses' "evidence" that they saw Slater coming out of Gilchrist's apartment, finding holes in the story, and numerous lies made by the police and the prosecutors. Conan Doyle knew from the beginning that Slater was innocent. He would use the art of diagnosis, which is how his creation Sherlock Holmes solved all those mysteries. So Conan Doyle became a true-crime investigator ready to do battle.
Conan Doyle for the Defense is a phenomenal book. Author Margalit Fox is one heck of a writer. She has written some other books and now I can't wait to dive into them. It's not surprising that Arthur Conan Doyle would become a detective in real life. His stories were so popular that people thought that he could solve real crimes and were constantly badgering him to do so. He did take on some cases that were successful. Freeing Oscar Slater, though, would be the icing on the cake. This book will keep you riveted.
Very highly recommended. 

THE CHILDREN OF NAZIS : THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF HIMMLER, GOERING, HOESS, MENGELE, AND OTHERS : LIVING WITH A FATHER'S MONSTROUS LEGACY
by Tania Crasnianski 

How do the sons and daughters of Nazis deal with the fact that their fathers were monstrous war criminals? Do they continue loving them or do they walk away? Can they judge a parent? As children they were unaware of what their fathers did away from home. These offspring of Himmler, Goering, Hess, Frank, Bormann, Hoess, Speer, and Mengele, were sheltered and lived a life of privilege. That would change when World War II ended with Germany's surrender and they were told of their fathers' crimes against humanity. So, how did they live (many of the descendants are still alive) knowing that they had a parent who was involved in the extermination of millions of innocent people?
The daughters remembered how much they were loved and absolutely worshiped their fathers. Some of them still do today. In their eyes, their fathers did nothing wrong. On the other hand, there are some sons who hate and totally reject their fathers. One of the most interesting aspects of all this is that most of these Nazi children did not change their names. Two of the sons have the same first name of their fathers. What a legacy!
The Children Of Nazis is most likely the first book where these eight individuals are no longer anonymous. With everything that has been written about the high-ranking Third Reich leaders, one never heard about their children. Author Tania Crasnianski delivers each portrait objectively and though at times it can be horrifying to read, you'll want to keep going on with it. These Nazis had loving relationships with their own children, but then thought nothing of killing Jewish children. To top it off, these men considered themselves to be highly moral. Incredible! 
A must read.
Highly recommended.

THE LAST WILD MEN OF BORNEO : A TRUE STORY OF DEATH AND TREASURE
by Carl Hoffman 

For a long time (starting in the 1920s and 1930s) both Americans and Europeans have been obsessed with the country of Indonesia, particularly its many islands. Thousands of westerners have flocked to Bali for its beaches, its cheap living, and collecting tribal art. Two men in particular were captivated with Borneo and would leave their native countries, living life to the fullest by two separate ventures.
Bruno Manser, a Swiss man, was always wandering, traveling all over, never satisfied with whatever he was striving for. He took great risks and could have died several times. In 1984, Bruno went on an expedition to visit these caves in Borneo and then slipped away from the group to make contact with the Penan, an indigenous tribe of hunter-gatherer nomads. He ended up living for years with them, learning the language, cutting his hair short, wearing a loincloth, hunting with a blowpipe and poison arrows. They accepted him as a member of the tribe.
American Michael Palmieri was originally from California. He, too, wandered the world, and eventually settled in Bali in the 1970s. Michael would lead expeditions into the jungle of Borneo buying up all this art and and carved statues from the Dayaks. He became so successful and wealthy that eventually museums and private collectors wanted the stuff.
Both men were in Indonesia at the same time, only met each other once for a brief conversation, never realizing that they both were fascinated with native culture.
The Last Wild Men of Borneo is a tremendous book. Author Carl Hoffman is one heck of a writer. Fortunately he had Bruno Manser's journals, interviews with Bruno's relatives, friends of Bruno's, and met up with Michael Palmieri who took him to Borneo. The story is very compelling and keeps you riveted. If you like a good adventure story about two fearless men and what they encountered in the deepest heart of Borneo (the good with the bad), you'll want to read this book.
Very highly recommended. 

IN FULL FLIGHT : A STORY OF AFRICA AND ATONEMENT
by John Heminway

When Anne Spoerry died in February 1999, it seemed as if all of East Africa turned out for the funeral. Thousands of people from mostly Kenya came to pay their last respects to the woman they called "Mama Daktari," Mother Doctor. For almost fifty years, Dr. Spoerry had treated over a million patients and they considered her to be a saint. As an esteemed member of the Flying Doctors Service, Dr. Spoerry (she didn't learn to fly until she was forty-five years old) would take to the skies in her plane called "Zulu Tango" and travel to wherever she was needed no matter how risky. She had quite a heroic career, but that was only part of her life. In 1948, after World War II ended, Dr, Spoerry had to get out of Europe away from the demons that were chasing her. She had been in the French Resistance, taken prisoner, and ended up in the women's concentration camp: Ravensbruck. It was here that her nightmares truly began. Apparently, she was one of those "doctors."
What an incredible story masterfully told and written by a wonderful author. John Heminway actually knew Dr. Spoerry for twenty years and flew out to Africa several times to meet with her. As a journalist, he wanted to interview her and eventually do a documentary. He was just as passionate about Africa as she was and hoping that since they were kindred spirits (he thought), it would be time well spent. The only thing was that he had to keep to the subject of her treating the people and not bring in anything else. Whenever Heminway tried to probe about where she was during World War II and dealing with the Germans, Spoerry clammed up and either changed the subject or stormed out of the room. This only made Heminway more intrigued and he realized that he would have to dig quite deeply to uncover Spoerry's secretive past. He would have to wait until she passed away to reveal the darkness.
In Full Flight  is quite a tale and keeps you at the end of your seat. Having never heard of her before (most of her friends thought they knew her), it's quite a feat to be able to break through such a complicated persona. This is a book not to be missed.
Very highly recommended.

THE FOOD EXPLORER : THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF THE GLOBE-TROTTING BOTANIST WHO TRANSFORMED WHAT AMERICA EATS
by Daniel Stone 

Here in America we have quite an amount of different kinds of food to eat and enjoy in sufficient amounts. Most people would probably think that it was always this way. Not at all. In the early part of the nineteenth century American meals were pretty basic and bland. There were no spices and no sauces. Fruits and vegetables were rare. Anything that grew from the soil was rejected. People ate to subsist. Things started to change by the end of the nineteenth century. Appetites began to broaden as companies like Pillsbury, Heinz, Lipton, et al, appeared with new inventions to make food preparation more user friendly and less as a chore. This was the time of the Gilded Age in the United States, when it became a powerhouse in industrialization. It enabled people to travel far and wide over oceans and into countries. One of the many would be a young botanist named David Fairchild. Fruit was his job and he wanted to explore the world to check out foods that could help American farmers and would delight people's palates. He would travel to more than fifty countries, tasting, savoring, collecting the seeds, and shipping them back to the United States. So what you see in supermarkets and farmers' markets originated in other countries. Thanks to Fairchild it's quite a variety. He's the one, after all, that gave the United States avocados. (They were originally from Chile.) Also on the list are: peaches (from China), red seedless grapes (Italy), wheat (Spain), kale (Croatia), and much more. Fairchild came along at the right time and we have much to thank him for.
The Food Explorer is a wonderful book. There is so much fascinating information about the history of food when America was barely one hundred years old and then onward. Plenty of interesting food trivia. Chapter two talks about what exactly is a fruit and sweetness has nothing to do with it. One of the things you learn about is the Meyer lemon (yes, it was actually named for somebody and he had to get a patent for it). This lemon originated in Peking, China. Fairchild didn't just bring back food. Those cherry blossom trees that you see in Washington, D.C. were introduced by him. These beauties came from Japan.
Author Daniel Stone is a wonderful writer. (He has done many articles for National Geographic and Scientific American.) He keeps your interest from the beginning to the end and it's just a delight to read. If you like finding out about food exploration and where it originally came from, don't hesitate. The book is really terrific.
Very highly recommended.