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. 

THE WOMAN WHO WASN'T THERE : THE TRUE STORY OF AN INCREDIBLE DECEPTION
by Robin Gaby Fisher and Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr.

She would make a name for herself not only as a victim, but as a hero and a celebrity. Two years after September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center Survivors' Network was born. The mouthpiece of this organization was a woman by the name of Tania Head. She led the group taking on the responsibility of bringing them to the public eye by saving remnants of the World Trade Center, such as the "Survivors Stairway," taking people on tours of Ground Zero, funding events by using her own assets. Tania was chosen, actually, to do all of this because her story was deemed much more powerful than all of the survivors combined. (She had escaped the south tower from the seventy-eight floor.) Tania was everyone's idol and mentor. She helped them deal with their stress, depression, and nightmares.
Tania's story began to fall apart in 2007 with discrepancies that didn't match up. She avoided reporters like the plague and when the New York Times tried to wrangle an interview with her, she kept on refusing to meet with them. At last, the article was printed (she never spoke to the reporter) and it sent shock waves throughout the country and the world.
What a disturbing tale. It's a quick read (I finished the book in a day and a half) unable to put it down. The story comes off like a mystery novel except that everything is true. One of the authors, Anthony J. Guglielmo, Jr., made a documentary and was, at one time, Tania's closest friend.
What she did was horrendous and broke the spirits of all that were mentally and physically inspired by her.
Until the last page, you will be shaking your head in disbelief.
Highly recommended.

A RARE TITANIC FAMILY : THE CALDWELL STORY OF SURVIVAL
by Julie Hedgepeth Williams

Albert and Sylvia Caldwell were two young, very idealistic Presbyterian missionaries hailing from Missouri. They had met one another at Park College which was a school to train students to do Christian work. The two of them knew that they wanted to teach and when a job opened up in Bangkok, they went for it. On September 1, 1909 (the day of their wedding), they started off on their trip to Siam (now, Thailand).
For a while, they loved Bangkok and thought it was enchanting. Then, Sylvia became pregnant and her health deteriorated. The heat of the tropics made everything worse. Sylvia went to a doctor who determined that she had neurasthenia of which the diagnosis is unknown today. The symptoms were muscle weakness, fatigue, numbness in extremities, headaches, mental breakdown. She had to stop teaching. When the baby, Alden, arrived, she couldn't even hold him. Sylvia did not get better and they knew that it was best for them to go back to America. The Foreign Missions Board did not believe that Sylvia was really ill and thought that she and Albert were trying to get out of their contract. Eventually, though, they were allowed to leave. They were supposed to go to Italy for a rest cure, but there had been a cholera epidemic the year before so that was nixed. The Caldwells ended up traveling around Europe taking different ocean liners with Sylvia constantly being seasick. When they landed in London, they bought second class tickets for the Titanic to bring them back to America.
There have been so many books written about the Titanic and most of them have not been very good. The authors list tons of statistical information about what was brought over on the big ship, too many names, the amount of money that was spent to build this huge vessel and after a while, the prose becomes deadening. Not so with A Rare Titanic Family. Julie Hedgepeth Williams is the great-niece of Albert Caldwell and she was able to use family artifacts such as scrapbooks, playbills, photos, letters, tapes, and written speeches. She is an excellent writer and she is certainly no slouch with research. The story about the Caldwell family living in Bankok is just as interesting as their Titanic adventure, so it's as if you get two unique stories for the price of one. It's definitely a fascinating read.
Highly recommended.

A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION : VICTORIA, ALBERT, AND THE DEATH THAT CHANGED THE BRITISH MONARCHY
by Helen Rappaport

Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert for twenty years. They had nine children which is truly amazing since the the Queen didn't really like children and mostly ignored them. The Prince was never made a king even though he performed all of the functions. His title was Prince Consort. Albert was considered a foreigner (German) and was not well-liked. Ironically, Victoria had German relatives herself but that was never discussed. Their marriage was secure and happy. Victoria loved Albert with such fierce devotion and as the years went by, she depended on him much more to make decisions for the sovereignty while she was content to recede into the background.
In the late 1850s, Albert started to not feel so good having major stomach problems. He was stressed to the max with doing speeches, making policy decisions, attending public functions, writing tons of letters, going to meetings, etc. Victoria didn't think much of his complaints (he was sickly as a child) and shrugged it off. In fact, she was pretty much in denial the four years that he was ill. When Albert finally died in December 1861, Victoria was plunged into such grief that she never recovered from it and wore black until the end of her reign. Prince Albert was criticized as he lived, but in death the people realized what he had done for them and the country and he finally was recognized as the true ruler of Britain.
Helen Rappaport certainly knows how to write a superb book. Her previous work The Last Days of the Romanovs was just as good (reviewed in this blog). Rappaport used unpublished sources such as letters, diaries, and memoirs, plus archival materials to define the relationship between Victoria and Albert, his death, the invisibility of the Queen, the fumbling inefficiencies of the four Royal doctors, the interaction of the people around Victoria who tried to guide her but were afraid of stepping on her toes.
Victoria had three obsessions: Albert, mourning his death and afterwards for the next forty years, and the building of structures and sculptures that commemorated his role in her life.
Not to be missed.
Very highly recommended.

THE LIVING END : A MEMOIR OF FORGETTING AND FORGIVING
by Robert Leleux

JoAnn Wilson was a true Southern belle with an acid tongue. She didn't put up with any nonsense and was devoted to her grandson, Robert. He lived with his grandparents, on and off, and thought the world of them. His mother, Jessica (nee Kathleen), never got along with JoAnn and always felt unloved. She had her own issues.
When JoAnn began exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's, Robert was there for her. JoAnn's personality changed and all of her harshness disappeared. Jessica got her mother back but it became a role reversal. What began as a very dysfunctional family was unified as the disease progressed.
Robert Leleux is one very talented writer. His previous book Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy certainly kept me laughing. The Living End has some funny moments but the way he writes is definitely thought provoking. Leleux so loved his grandmother and this book is a great tribute to her. His prose is beautiful.
Recommended.

THE LONGEST WINTER : SCOTT'S OTHER HEROES
by Meredith Hooper

When Captain Robert Falcon Scott set off for his infamous British Antarctic Expedition in November 1910 from New Zealand, fifty-nine people were with him on his ship. Thirty-one of the men were part of the shore party which was then separated into two divisions: Eastern and Western.
There were six members of the Eastern party and their objective was to explore and do science: geology, meteorology, etc. Scott's aim was to reach the South Pole. When the six men (three officers and three seamen) said their good-byes to Scott, they had no idea that they would never see him again. They survived but he didn't.
There's been tons of books written about Scott with both accolades and severe criticism. Having read most of them, I never knew about the other expedition until now. What these six men went through existing together first in a hut, then tents, and then a man-made ice-cave (which they dug) is truly remarkable. Although one man, Campbell, was the leader, they all learned to support one another and the lines of authority dissolved. Their suffering united them.
They are the true heroes.
Meredith Hooper has written an outstanding story based on diaries, journals, and letters of the men on the expedition. She actually visited the locations where the men were. Hooper is quite an authority on the Antarctic having lived and worked there for fifteen years.
A tremendous read.
Highly recommended.