DOCTOR TO THE RESISTANCE : THE HEROIC STORY OF AN AMERICAN SURGEON AND HIS FAMILY IN OCCUPIED PARIS
by Hal Vaughan
Dr. Sumner Waldron Jackson (originally from Maine) was the Medical Director of the American Hospital of Paris during World War II. Known as Dr. Jack, he was revered by both his staff and his patients. When Paris became occupied by the Nazis, he, his wife, Toquette, and their son, Phillip, could have left to return to the United States, but they didn't. Instead, they joined the French Resistance. At the age of fifteen, Phillip thought that it was all a "game." His parents knew otherwise. If they were caught, they would be arrested, or deported, or worse. So Phillip delivered clandestine mail around Paris (he was fifteen at the time), his father hid men wanted by the SS in hospital beds, and their apartment at Foch Avenue was used as a courier center.
I first heard about Dr. Jackson from another book called Avenue of Spies by Alex Kershaw. There wasn't a whole lot of information on the doctor, plus it wasn't well-written, it was boring, and repetitive. While reading reviews on Amazon about Kershaw's book, a commentator mentioned Hal Vaughan's superior tale. As soon as I began reading it, I knew immediately that it was much better and much more interesting.
There have been many books written about World War II, but Doctor to the Resistance is quite fascinating as it goes into in-depth details about what Paris looked like and how it acted during the Occupation. On top of that, you have an American family that could have escaped but willingly joined the Resistance, because they knew that the Nazis would be defeated.
One of the most disturbing chapters in the book is called "SS Death Ships." These huge barges gathered up thousands of concentration camp prisoners as the allies were moving in. Lubeck Bay would become one of history's greatest maritime disasters. I never heard of this before in all of the hundreds of books that I have read about the Holocaust.
Doctor to the Resistance is quite a story. Hal Vaughan certainly knows how to do impressive research, especially since he dug up information that hasn't been written anywhere else. Luckily for him and for us, he was able to interview Phillip, who had plenty of documents and photos.
A very good read.
Recommended.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Monday, September 7, 2015
THE LOST TRIBE OF CONEY ISLAND : HEADHUNTERS, LUNA PARK, AND THE MAN WHO PULLED OFF THE SPECTACLE OF THE CENTURY
by Claire Prentice
The biggest attraction at Luna Park (part of Coney Island) in 1905 was the Bontoc Igorottes (mountain people). Fifty of them were brought to America from the Philippines by Truman K. Hunt. They were billed as "dog-eating, head-hunting savages" and put on a show performing native dances, basket weaving, jewelry making, and other rituals. Millions of people came to see the Igorottes. In no time, they were a huge sensation and were written up in newspapers nationally and then globally.
Hunt became a rich man from them. But he was an opportunist and told tall tales about the tribespeople. Unfortunately, the press swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. He stretched the truth to entertain the public. Underneath his so-called charming demeanor, though, was a dark side. Truman was greedy (he stole their wages), heartless (he treated them like slaves), and deceitful (constantly lying to the U.S. government).
The Igorottes were kind, just, honest, and dignified people. They originally had thought the world of Dr. Hunt. He was a former medical doctor who had met the tribe after the 1898 Spanish-American War had erupted. Hunt had lived among them, treating their ills, setting bones, and giving medications when needed. So when he decided to bring them over to America, they trusted him completely. They thought that he was their friend. Some friend indeed.
The Lost Tribe of Coney Island is both an absorbing and disturbing read. It's very well-written and definitely keeps your attention. What's really shameful and appalling is that human beings were exhibited like animals in a zoo and the public paid money to gawk at them. Eventually it became an embarrassing circumstance in the history of the United States and the relationship between them and the Filipinos.
The massive research that author Claire Prentice did to create such a book is very impressive. (You will find all of it in the Acknowledgments.) She visited over thirty libraries, many museums, historical societies, universities, archives; spoke with a military historian; learned from a curator about fashions at the beginning of the century; had legal questions answered by a School of Law, and many more people whose line of work helped Prentice compile all of her necessary information.
This is an incredible story that merits being told. It's an eye-opener because it makes you think who really is civilized and who is savage.
Very highly recommended.
by Claire Prentice
The biggest attraction at Luna Park (part of Coney Island) in 1905 was the Bontoc Igorottes (mountain people). Fifty of them were brought to America from the Philippines by Truman K. Hunt. They were billed as "dog-eating, head-hunting savages" and put on a show performing native dances, basket weaving, jewelry making, and other rituals. Millions of people came to see the Igorottes. In no time, they were a huge sensation and were written up in newspapers nationally and then globally.
Hunt became a rich man from them. But he was an opportunist and told tall tales about the tribespeople. Unfortunately, the press swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. He stretched the truth to entertain the public. Underneath his so-called charming demeanor, though, was a dark side. Truman was greedy (he stole their wages), heartless (he treated them like slaves), and deceitful (constantly lying to the U.S. government).
The Igorottes were kind, just, honest, and dignified people. They originally had thought the world of Dr. Hunt. He was a former medical doctor who had met the tribe after the 1898 Spanish-American War had erupted. Hunt had lived among them, treating their ills, setting bones, and giving medications when needed. So when he decided to bring them over to America, they trusted him completely. They thought that he was their friend. Some friend indeed.
The Lost Tribe of Coney Island is both an absorbing and disturbing read. It's very well-written and definitely keeps your attention. What's really shameful and appalling is that human beings were exhibited like animals in a zoo and the public paid money to gawk at them. Eventually it became an embarrassing circumstance in the history of the United States and the relationship between them and the Filipinos.
The massive research that author Claire Prentice did to create such a book is very impressive. (You will find all of it in the Acknowledgments.) She visited over thirty libraries, many museums, historical societies, universities, archives; spoke with a military historian; learned from a curator about fashions at the beginning of the century; had legal questions answered by a School of Law, and many more people whose line of work helped Prentice compile all of her necessary information.
This is an incredible story that merits being told. It's an eye-opener because it makes you think who really is civilized and who is savage.
Very highly recommended.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
THE SPY'S SON : THE TRUE STORY OF THE HIGHEST-RANKING CIA OFFICER EVER CONVICTED OF ESPIONAGE AND THE SON HE TRAINED TO SPY FOR RUSSIA
by Bryan Denson
Harold James "Jim" Nicholson was an exemplary case officer working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He was classy, wore three-piece suits, and loved his country. Jim (also known as Batman) was sent to different countries around the world operating against the Soviet Union. Although he rose in the ranks and was much admired, not so with his wife (his kids barely knew him as he was hardly ever home). That would change when Jim got divorced and his children ended up living with him in Virginia. He became a devoted father and a very attentive parent. They began to have this lavish lifestyle. Jim bought his kids expensive gifts. Where was this influx of extra cash coming from? Blame it on the Russians, although Jim was the one that walked into their embassy and offered his services. For two years, he sold secrets for quite a bit of money, handing over thousands of classified documents on other officers, which then destroyed their careers and put them in grave danger. Talk about betrayal. Eventually both the CIA and FBI joined forces to capture Jim.
Several years later, while incarcerated, he was at it again. He recruited his son, Nathan, to be his courier. Nathan adored his father and would do anything for him. Jim proceeded to show him some basic lessons in spycraft. Whenever Nathan visited his father, he smuggled messages out and met with Russian spies in three different countries. He actually thought he was doing the right thing. After all, his father told him that there was nothing illegal in his actions. Nathan never thought of the risk and what could happen to him.
The Spy's Son is one hell of a story. Author Bryan Denson spent five years putting everything together. He crafted a riveting tale. You come away absolutely despising Jim. He was a narcissist, had no remorse for what he had done, and ruined his family. Jim said that he loved his children, but what kind of father would intentionally put his son in harm's way, in a cunning deception?
If you enjoy spy stories, this book is one terrific read.
Highly recommended.
by Bryan Denson
Harold James "Jim" Nicholson was an exemplary case officer working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He was classy, wore three-piece suits, and loved his country. Jim (also known as Batman) was sent to different countries around the world operating against the Soviet Union. Although he rose in the ranks and was much admired, not so with his wife (his kids barely knew him as he was hardly ever home). That would change when Jim got divorced and his children ended up living with him in Virginia. He became a devoted father and a very attentive parent. They began to have this lavish lifestyle. Jim bought his kids expensive gifts. Where was this influx of extra cash coming from? Blame it on the Russians, although Jim was the one that walked into their embassy and offered his services. For two years, he sold secrets for quite a bit of money, handing over thousands of classified documents on other officers, which then destroyed their careers and put them in grave danger. Talk about betrayal. Eventually both the CIA and FBI joined forces to capture Jim.
Several years later, while incarcerated, he was at it again. He recruited his son, Nathan, to be his courier. Nathan adored his father and would do anything for him. Jim proceeded to show him some basic lessons in spycraft. Whenever Nathan visited his father, he smuggled messages out and met with Russian spies in three different countries. He actually thought he was doing the right thing. After all, his father told him that there was nothing illegal in his actions. Nathan never thought of the risk and what could happen to him.
The Spy's Son is one hell of a story. Author Bryan Denson spent five years putting everything together. He crafted a riveting tale. You come away absolutely despising Jim. He was a narcissist, had no remorse for what he had done, and ruined his family. Jim said that he loved his children, but what kind of father would intentionally put his son in harm's way, in a cunning deception?
If you enjoy spy stories, this book is one terrific read.
Highly recommended.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
STALIN'S DAUGHTER : THE EXTRAORDINARY AND TUMULTUOUS LIFE OF SVETLANA ALLILUYEVA
by Rosemary Sullivan
It's not a good thing to be the offspring of a leader of a country, especially when that leader is a tyrant. You will never have a life and will be forever doomed. So it was with Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Stalin.
Svetlana spent her childhood inside the Kremlin protected from the horrors outside that her father inflicted upon the citizens of the Soviet Union. But she saw tragedy very early on. Her mother, Nadya, committed suicide when Svetlana was six and a half years old. Uncles and aunts were arrested on false charges and executed.
After Stalin died in 1953, Svetlana discovered how cruel her father really was and how far it went. But the cruelty did not stop. Her older brother was arrested and friends were sent to the gulag (forced-labor camps).
When Svetlana was forty-one, she defected to the United States leaving her two children behind. She could no longer stand the oppression and wanted her freedom. Unfortunately Svetlana could never really find home and lived in the West like a gypsy constantly moving from place to place. Her father's shadow loomed over her from which she was not able to escape.
Don't be scared by the size of this book. At 623 pages, Stalin's Daughter is quite hefty, but easy to read. Rosemary Sullivan is a terrific writer and the prose flows effortlessly. After The Table of Contents, there are two pages of Family Trees: maternal and paternal. As you get into the book, you can refer to these if the names start to drive you crazy. After the Acknowledgements are a List of Characters. You really don't need to look at them until you are finished reading the entire book, because they won't make any sense to you nor will you remember all of them until you are done.
Sullivan is a great biographer and through her immense research was able to deftly create a riveting portrait of a misunderstood, lonely, but valiant woman.
Very highly recommended.
by Rosemary Sullivan
It's not a good thing to be the offspring of a leader of a country, especially when that leader is a tyrant. You will never have a life and will be forever doomed. So it was with Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Stalin.
Svetlana spent her childhood inside the Kremlin protected from the horrors outside that her father inflicted upon the citizens of the Soviet Union. But she saw tragedy very early on. Her mother, Nadya, committed suicide when Svetlana was six and a half years old. Uncles and aunts were arrested on false charges and executed.
After Stalin died in 1953, Svetlana discovered how cruel her father really was and how far it went. But the cruelty did not stop. Her older brother was arrested and friends were sent to the gulag (forced-labor camps).
When Svetlana was forty-one, she defected to the United States leaving her two children behind. She could no longer stand the oppression and wanted her freedom. Unfortunately Svetlana could never really find home and lived in the West like a gypsy constantly moving from place to place. Her father's shadow loomed over her from which she was not able to escape.
Don't be scared by the size of this book. At 623 pages, Stalin's Daughter is quite hefty, but easy to read. Rosemary Sullivan is a terrific writer and the prose flows effortlessly. After The Table of Contents, there are two pages of Family Trees: maternal and paternal. As you get into the book, you can refer to these if the names start to drive you crazy. After the Acknowledgements are a List of Characters. You really don't need to look at them until you are finished reading the entire book, because they won't make any sense to you nor will you remember all of them until you are done.
Sullivan is a great biographer and through her immense research was able to deftly create a riveting portrait of a misunderstood, lonely, but valiant woman.
Very highly recommended.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
JONAS SALK : A LIFE
by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs
Poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) was the disease that every parent dreaded. There was no cure. In 1916, twenty-seven thousand people (mostly children under the age of five) were afflicted. It would take thirty-nine years before a vaccine would enter to prevent polio and end the suffering.
On April 12, 1955, the life of Jonas Salk changed forever. He was the man who created the vaccine and his announcement catapulted him into instant celebrity. It was never-ending. He was adored and adulated by the public. Salk was their hero.
The scientific community did not feel the same way. They snubbed him. In their eyes, he wasn't a real scientist, because no man of science puts himself out there to the public. They couldn't seem to get their heads around the fact that one man created something that could save lives.
Salk was not just involved with polio, but he also had a hand in a vaccine for influenza (he never received recognition) and did incredible work on AIDS.
Jonas Salk knew as a child that he would do something really noble. (His mother, after all, told him that he was destined for greatness.) This idealism would drive him even though his peers rejected him.
At 400 plus pages, this is one hefty book, but it's not plodding nor boring. Author Charlotte Jacobs is a great biographer and writes quite skillfully. There's plenty of details that in lesser hands could really bog down the information. She knows how to present the material in a pleasing way that is palatable to the layperson. As a physician herself and professor of medicine at Stanford University, Jacobs has the knowledge to portray Salk in all of his complexities showing who he really was.
Highly recommended.
by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs
Poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) was the disease that every parent dreaded. There was no cure. In 1916, twenty-seven thousand people (mostly children under the age of five) were afflicted. It would take thirty-nine years before a vaccine would enter to prevent polio and end the suffering.
On April 12, 1955, the life of Jonas Salk changed forever. He was the man who created the vaccine and his announcement catapulted him into instant celebrity. It was never-ending. He was adored and adulated by the public. Salk was their hero.
The scientific community did not feel the same way. They snubbed him. In their eyes, he wasn't a real scientist, because no man of science puts himself out there to the public. They couldn't seem to get their heads around the fact that one man created something that could save lives.
Salk was not just involved with polio, but he also had a hand in a vaccine for influenza (he never received recognition) and did incredible work on AIDS.
Jonas Salk knew as a child that he would do something really noble. (His mother, after all, told him that he was destined for greatness.) This idealism would drive him even though his peers rejected him.
At 400 plus pages, this is one hefty book, but it's not plodding nor boring. Author Charlotte Jacobs is a great biographer and writes quite skillfully. There's plenty of details that in lesser hands could really bog down the information. She knows how to present the material in a pleasing way that is palatable to the layperson. As a physician herself and professor of medicine at Stanford University, Jacobs has the knowledge to portray Salk in all of his complexities showing who he really was.
Highly recommended.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
OFF THE RADAR : A FATHER'S SECRET, A MOTHER'S HEROISM, AND A SON'S QUEST
by Cyrus Copeland
Remember the year that sixty-six Americans were being held hostage in Iran's U.S. embassy? It was 1979. A revolution and Islamic fundamentalism commenced. The Americans were kept for 444 days. It made international news. What was not known, though, was that another American ended up being arrested for espionage.
Max Copeland was a quiet man who seemed more like a college administrator than a corporate executive. He worked for Westinghouse (they were no longer in the business of selling light bulbs) and they were a huge presence in Iran selling radar equipment to the Iranian Air Force. Max was caught by Revolutionary Guards and thrown into prison. The United States did nothing. He was put on trial. No lawyer took his case. The only one who could save him was Shahin, his Iranian wife.
Thirty-five years later, son Cyrus is going through a box of his father's files to see what he was really doing in Tehran and discovered a man that was way different than he had known.
Off the Radar is an absolutely brilliant book. The writing is tremendous. If you didn't know the history of Persia/Iran, it is all explained here along with the downfall of the Shah, his exiting, and the entrance of Khomeini. The family really went through quite an emotional upheaval, because they were two colliding cultures. Shahin, the matriarch of the family, was the rock as she tried to save her husband and used her wits, strength, and intelligence to go after the powers-that-be of Iran.
This is one stupendous, riveting, and exciting read.
Very highly recommended.
by Cyrus Copeland
Remember the year that sixty-six Americans were being held hostage in Iran's U.S. embassy? It was 1979. A revolution and Islamic fundamentalism commenced. The Americans were kept for 444 days. It made international news. What was not known, though, was that another American ended up being arrested for espionage.
Max Copeland was a quiet man who seemed more like a college administrator than a corporate executive. He worked for Westinghouse (they were no longer in the business of selling light bulbs) and they were a huge presence in Iran selling radar equipment to the Iranian Air Force. Max was caught by Revolutionary Guards and thrown into prison. The United States did nothing. He was put on trial. No lawyer took his case. The only one who could save him was Shahin, his Iranian wife.
Thirty-five years later, son Cyrus is going through a box of his father's files to see what he was really doing in Tehran and discovered a man that was way different than he had known.
Off the Radar is an absolutely brilliant book. The writing is tremendous. If you didn't know the history of Persia/Iran, it is all explained here along with the downfall of the Shah, his exiting, and the entrance of Khomeini. The family really went through quite an emotional upheaval, because they were two colliding cultures. Shahin, the matriarch of the family, was the rock as she tried to save her husband and used her wits, strength, and intelligence to go after the powers-that-be of Iran.
This is one stupendous, riveting, and exciting read.
Very highly recommended.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE : HOW ONE FRENCH COMMUNITY SAVED THOUSANDS OF LIVES DURING WORLD WAR II
by Peter Grose
In the years between 1940 to 1944, an isolated French community selflessly saved 3,500 Jews from the Nazis. They risked their own lives to offer a safe haven, hospitality, and kindness. These incredible people were Huguenots, who at one time were anti-Semitic. That would change. The Huguenots broke away from the Catholic Church in 1530 and became Protestants. They grew by the millions. The Catholic Church was not too happy about this and fought them bitterly. So began the Wars of Religion. It wasn't until Napoleon arrived in 1804 that peace for the Huguenots was finally at hand. For over 200 years, they understood what it was like to be a persecuted minority. They learned how to survive, keep their wits about them, their heads down, and watch what they said. It was a match made in heaven for the Jews. They were among ordinary men and women who offered human decency.
A Good Place to Hide is an extraordinary tale. It is one of these feel-good stories that don't come around too often. The book is very well-written. Peter Grose did quite a bit of research including interviews with some of the people that were there.What started the ball rolling was a documentary called Weapons of the Spirit. (Check out the 4-minute excerpt from it on YouTube by Pierre Sauvage called "Le Chambon.") After watching this video, you will WANT to know what happened.
The story is quite moving, absorbing, and so inspiring. It's a terrific read and is not to be missed.
Highly recommended.
by Peter Grose
In the years between 1940 to 1944, an isolated French community selflessly saved 3,500 Jews from the Nazis. They risked their own lives to offer a safe haven, hospitality, and kindness. These incredible people were Huguenots, who at one time were anti-Semitic. That would change. The Huguenots broke away from the Catholic Church in 1530 and became Protestants. They grew by the millions. The Catholic Church was not too happy about this and fought them bitterly. So began the Wars of Religion. It wasn't until Napoleon arrived in 1804 that peace for the Huguenots was finally at hand. For over 200 years, they understood what it was like to be a persecuted minority. They learned how to survive, keep their wits about them, their heads down, and watch what they said. It was a match made in heaven for the Jews. They were among ordinary men and women who offered human decency.
A Good Place to Hide is an extraordinary tale. It is one of these feel-good stories that don't come around too often. The book is very well-written. Peter Grose did quite a bit of research including interviews with some of the people that were there.What started the ball rolling was a documentary called Weapons of the Spirit. (Check out the 4-minute excerpt from it on YouTube by Pierre Sauvage called "Le Chambon.") After watching this video, you will WANT to know what happened.
The story is quite moving, absorbing, and so inspiring. It's a terrific read and is not to be missed.
Highly recommended.
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