THE LAST VOYAGEURS : RETRACING LA SALLE'S JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA : SIXTEEN TEENAGERS ON THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME
by Lorraine Boissoneault

How does one celebrate America's two-hundredth anniversary? Reid Lewis, a French teacher from a suburb in Chicago, had the idea of reenacting a 3,300-mile canoe journey from Montreal to the Gulf of Mexico. He wanted to emulate Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle's long voyage. La Salle was the first European that traversed from Montreal to the mouth of the Mississippi River. It would be called La Salle: Expedition II. The expedition would be made up of twenty-three men, sixteen of which would be teenagers who had just graduated high school along with six teachers. They would take the names of the original French voyageurs (look, act, and behave like them), make their own seventeenth-century clothes, build their own canoes, and give performances along the way to the communities. There was no way, though, that Lewis could lead this expedition alone, so he asked his brother, Ken, to help. Canoeing was right up their alley. Just a month prior, the two of them had followed and reenacted the trek of another French explorer (Louis Jolliet), but Lewis and Ken had just paddled half of the Mississippi River. The students would need to do research projects and get up to speed with both the physical and mental trials they would experience. Lewis wanted teachers who could be tremendous assets during the trip. They had two years to plan everything.
The Last Voyageurs is an extremely well-written book about a daring group of young men who were involved in the adventure of a lifetime. For eight months, they left their families and dealt with hardship, difficult personalities, a limited diet, camping out in makeshift tents (canoes turned on their sides with tarps), dangerous waters, learning how to get along with others in very tight spaces, and homesickness. The chapters are laid out with the historical aspect of the original voyage and at the same time, the present trip. In this way, you get the feel of what actually happened three hundred years ago, but also see how the young voyageurs attempted to be like those men and experience what they went through.
I loved reading this story. It's a real page turner. If you enjoy adventure tales, you must get this book. Between the astute sketches of the characters involved and the way author Lorraine Boissoneault melds everything together keeps you riveted. I really did not want this book to end. Hopefully, Boissoneault will surface again with another terrific escapade. I will be eagerly waiting.
Very highly recommended. 

LOUISA : THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF MRS. ADAMS
by Louisa Thomas 

Louisa Catherine Johnson most definitely did not marry for love; that would come later. John Quincy Adams, on the other hand, fell head-over-heels for Louisa and wanted her for his wife. It's odd that he would feel this way, because there was another woman long before Louis showed up and he loved her more, but it didn't work out to what he had planned for the two of them. Considering that Louisa's and John Quincy's courtship was so antagonistic, it's a wonder that they even got married at all.
Louisa was raised quite differently than John Quincy. She was born in London to an American father and a British mother a few months before the Revolutionary War began. Louisa was used to living in opulence, looking pretty, and singing for visitors. John Quincy was taught by his parents to be committed to his country and dedicate himself to public service. Louisa had to learn how to conform,  get along with her in-laws (a mercurial task), and to fit in.
Louisa is a terrific book about a quite remarkable lady. Author Louisa Thomas is a masterful biographer. Not really having any knowledge of who she was, by the time you finish reading this riveting work, you will realize that Louisa Adams was an incredible woman in her own right. Because she became America's only foreign born First Lady she had to reinvent herself and create her own identity. Her marriage with John Quincy was difficult, yet there were times that they needed each other through both the worst and the best times. Adversity made her stronger. For many years she has been overlooked as just another Adams. Not anymore. Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams has come out of the shadows.
Very highly recommended. 

THE PARKER SISTERS : A BORDER KIDNAPPING
by Lucy Maddox 

Chester County is an area in Pennsylvania along the southeastern border. It abuts the northern boundaries of Maryland and Delaware. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, these boundary lines converged with the fabled line drawn by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. What this means is that Chester County was sort of stuck between the free states to the north of this particular line and the slave states to the south of it. Pennsylvania was a free state then but that didn't necessarily guarantee freedom to anyone who was black due to the slave catchers. They would take them whether they were free or not and sell them across state lines.
In 1851, Elizabeth Parker, a free black child was abducted from a farm by two men and taken to a slave pen in Baltimore. Two weeks later, her teenage sister Rachel was abducted from another farm and brought to the same place as Elizabeth. The man who took both of them was caught in Baltimore and arrested. Thomas McCreary was charged but unfortunately never convicted. So, he was free and the two poor girls who had done nothing wrong spent months in jail. Blame it all on the Fugitive Slave Law of 1950.
There's quite a number of books written about slavery in the south, so finding one that talks about the antagonism between a free state such as Pennsylvania and the slave state Maryland is incredible. The heroics of a small farming community who took matters into their own hands by going after the perpetrators and saving the fugitives themselves is remarkable. Historian Lucy Maddox writes extremely well considering the amount of details and research that she accomplished. In lesser hands, The Parker Sisters could have been quite boring and plodding. Thankfully, it was not. It's most definitely a great read.
Recommended. 

THE CIVIL WARS OF JULIA WARD HOWE : A BIOGRAPHY
by Elaine Showalter 

The lyrics for the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" were written in 1861 by Julia Ward Howe while staying in a hotel in Washington, DC. (She had gone to sleep but then awoke with these lines in her mind, for which she had to quickly write them down.) It was actually a poem that she called "Battle Hymn" and sent it to the Atlantic Monthly. Published anonymously (Howe was paid five dollars) it was renamed "Battle Hymn of the Republic." 
Julia Ward was an heiress from New York (her father had been a wealthy banker) and was instructed by tutors in music (she was a contralto and played the piano) and languages (she spoke six), an avid reader, plus always had an interest in writing (mostly poetry). (She would eventually write six books.)
When Julia met Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, a world-famous doctor who developed a method for educating blind children (Perkins Institution; Helen Keller would eventually be educated here), she thought she had met her match and would have an equal partnership. Alas, it was not to be starting off on the wrong foot after they became engaged. Julia wanted to wait for a couple of years and Howe was ready to get married in three months. The power struggle between them already began to assert its place. Their eighteen-year age difference didn't help. To outsiders, it looked like the perfect marriage. They traveled the world together, were both ambitious, had tremendous energy, were committed to public services, knew many political and intellectual people, and seemed to be united. The reality was that Julia was stifled by Howe. He did not approve of married women working outside the home and expected Julia to be fulfilled in her domestic and maternal roles. Howe tried to stop her writing (she tried to do it in secret) and when he discovered some of it, he was enraged. He made all of the decisions and expected her to abide by them. Julia defied him and after her husband died, she finally had her freedom and came into her own.
Elaine Showalter has done a tremendous job of bringing this incredible, strong woman into the light. The writing is wonderful and never bogs down with irrelevant information as so many other biographies seem to do. I never even knew who originally wrote the famous anthem and after reading this marvelous biography, you understand what made her write it in the first place. Julia rose above the strife in her life and was recognized, appreciated, and revered.
Highly recommended.
 

OPERATION THUNDERBOLT : FLIGHT 139 AND THE RAID ON ENTEBBE AIRPORT, THE MOST AUDACIOUS HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION IN HISTORY
by Saul David 

July 3, 2016, will be the 40th anniversary of the raid on Entebbe. It has been described as the greatest, most successful counteroffensive of the War on Terror. This onslaught encouraged other countries (primarily Western) to create special counter-terrorist entities. Its legacy has continued.
On June 27, 1976, Air France flight 139, which was supposed to fly from Tel Aviv to Paris, was hijacked by several Arab and German terrorists. The plane was redirected, instead, to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. There were 253 passengers and crew on board and in order for them to be relinquished, the terrorists wanted Israel, Kenya, and Europe to release "freedom fighters" (the terrorists' verbiage) from their jails. Idi Amin (a monster of a ruler in Uganda) was in cahoots with the terrorists, so he was no help.
Israel was only given a couple of days to decide what to do. Yitzhak Rabin (prime minister) was in favor of negotiating, but Shimon Peres (defense minister) was not. They certainly did not want to capitulate to the terrorists nor attempt to rescue hostages, (most of whom were Israelis), because it might end in disaster. It was discussed and argued until with not that much time left, a plan was executed: "Operation Thunderbolt" was born.
Apparently there haven't been too many or any books written on what really happened according to author Saul David. He wanted the perspective of everybody involved and was able to interview quite a good number of them.The book reads like a thriller because of the way he set it up. You get the real time and the location, which is placed above the narrative. Events unfold before your eyes. You learn about the horrible conditions of the Old Terminal in Entebbe where the hostages were kept, the soldiers who were chosen to lead and fight, the governments involved, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), and so much more.
Operation Thunderbolt is spectacular storytelling that will keep you riveted.
Very highly recommended. 

THE ONLY STREET IN PARIS : LIFE ON THE RUE DES MARTYRS
by Elaine Sciolino 

The rue des Martyrs is not listed in most of the Paris guidebooks. It is only half a mile long and very narrow. There are no landmarks. The street has the feel of a small village; hence its community is very tight-knit. What keeps the character strong and uncut are the old-world merchants and artisans. For this reason alone, the rue des Martyrs retains its authenticity and down-to-earth sense of closeness that is missing from other areas of Paris.
In 2002, author Elaine Sciolino came to Paris with her family to work as bureau chief for the New York Times thinking that they would only be there for a few years. They never left. Eight years later, Sciolino wanted to move out of their cosmopolitan neighborhood to the other side of the river Seine and she and husband were lucky enough to get an apartment right off the rue des Martyrs. By then they were no longer considered foreigners. As residents who took a keen interest in the history of their street, it didn't take long before they (especially Sciolino) were welcomed as part of their community.
The Only Street in Paris is one charming book that I totally enjoyed reading. Sciolino writes about the merchants' lives, what is sold (no big chain stores are allowed, whether it's clothing or food), the longevity of many of the stores: a butcher shop has been run by the same family since 1899, a bakery has been around since 1868, a pharmacy since 1848. One chapter is dedicated to why there is a street named after martyrs and who exactly they were; another about independent bookstores (they thrive in France due to government protection), one of which is called Librairie Vendredi, a tiny store crammed with ten-thousand titles where the owners don't use a computer to keep track of what they have. Instead, that information is stored in their heads. Other chapters include a woman who restores eighteenth-century mercury barometers; an eccentric showman who has been running a transvestite cabaret for almost sixty years; the demise of a long-standing fish store (a catastrophe!); a party for all of the residents organized by Sciolino so that everybody could come together to celebrate the street and they have to bring something to eat or drink where everyone shares in it (potluck in America and unheard of in France).
Having lived in France back in the late 1970s, this book brings back all my great, wonderful memories. Even if you have never been there, Sciolino writes with such warmth that she transports you right into the delectable ambiance that she calls home. Who wouldn't?
Highly recommended.
 

THE GHOSTS OF K2 : THE EPIC SAGA OF THE FIRST ASCENT
by Mick Conefrey

The toughest mountain to climb in the world doesn't have a real name. Maybe because it's so difficult to get to that it didn't warrant having a proper nomenclature. A British officer in 1856 first laid eyes on it when he climbed up 16,000 ft on another mountain to do surveying. He saw two peaks located in Karakoram, north west of the Himalayas.The officer designated them as K1 and K2. It would be the latter one (K2) that people would set their sights on.
The height of K2 is 28,251 ft which is second to Everest, but it's much harder to ascend. It can kill you on the way up and on the way down. For a mountaineer, it's the ultimate challenge: the slopes are extremely steep, the altitude is so extreme (think headaches), it's in the middle of nowhere, and the weather is capricious (clear, beautiful skies then horrible, icy storms).
At the beginning of the twentieth century, several explorers from different countries were determined to be the first to get to the top.
The Ghosts of K2 is a tremendous story that will keep you riveted in your seat. Author Mick Conefrey definitely knows how to write a great narrative. (He previously wrote about Everest and has made films about mountaineering.) Through archives and letters, plus interviews with survivors of K2, Conefrey is able to make you feel as if you are right there with the climbers. 
If you're interested in exploits of mountain climbing and are looking for a phenomenal read, get this book.
Very highly recommended.