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Try to imagine a world in which the electric light did not exist. The pace and progress of science in just the last century transformed the world, but until the late 1800s, well after the Civil War, electricity and how to harness it was a mystery. It was known to exist, but what it was, how to generate it, and how to use it was the subject of much conjecture. And fear. Indeed, it would be more than thirty years after Edison invented the incandescent bulb in 1879 before some brave people would risk wiring their homes to use it, rather than rely on gaslight. Even after World War One, barely twenty percent of American homes used electricity. The story of how the introduction of electricity into our every day lives was achieved is told in Dark Light: Electricity and Anxiety from the Telegraph to the X-Ray ($25.00, Harcourt) by Linda Simon. Ironically, even in our own times, people react to new technologies much in the same way as earlier generations. Anyone with an interest in both history and science will find this book to be an excellent examination of the way the most transforming of all discoveries, the adaptation of electricity to serve in the workplace and home, came to be. Robert Bryce has authored Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America’s Superstate ($26.00, Public Affairs, an imprint of Perseus Books). It is a fascinating account of how oil money has played a role in US politics since the discovery of huge reserves in the Lone Star State. Bryce traces the history of Texas’ ascendancy, noting that four of the last 15 presidents have been Texans, three of the last 15 secretaries of state were Texans, and two of the last seven secretaries of commerce were Texans. This is a story of how the biggest concentration of oil-rich multi-millionaires, construction companies, and law firms have worked hard to protect their interests and attract federal investment in their state in the form of military bases, pipelines, dams and such. He also connects the dots regarding foreign wars, most recently in the Middle East, given the fact that the US needs to insure its oil keeps flowing. In the end, though, it is almost impossible not to come away with an admiration for the "cronies" who put together the most powerful political machine in the nation and, in the process, turned Texas from a Democrat to a Republican bastion. Not surprisingly, there is considerable antipathy throughout the book toward the two Bush presidents and there is a strong anti-corporate message. It turns downright venomous at the end, detracting from what is otherwise a rather entertaining book. Political junkies will enjoy John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography ($14.95, Public Affairs) by three Boston Globe reporters. It is a thorough biography by reporters who have covered the Senator from Massachusetts for a long time and is filled with the kind of quotes and details that provide a portrait of the man seeking to be the next President of the United States.
Thirty years ago in 1974, my friend Shirley Camper Soman wrote a book, Let’s Stop Destroying Our Children, ($26,95, iUniverse) that was truly groundbreaking for its unflinching look at the abuse of children. Shirley drew on her experience as a social worker and, sadly, the abuse continues today. That is why she has updated her book and added the subtitle "Society’s most pressing problem, then and now" providing a 100- page addition to her protest and demand that the lack of comprehensive legal rights of children still requires attention three decades after the book was initially published. The author has few rivals for her knowledge of this problem which still shocks us in the form of headlines of mistreated children, often turned over to a system and then abandoned that does little to protect them. This new edition cries out for the kind of attention that the media provides only when the body of some neglected child is discovered. If you are just mad for statistics and, in particular, State Trends, then pick up the first edition of this volume of no-frills state comparisons of everything from the state that experienced the largest decrease in its teen birth rate since the early 1990s (California) to the state with the largest increase in the number of death row inmates in the past two decades (Ohio). Published by Morgan Quitno ($59.00), you can also find other useful State rankings publications devoted to education, health care, and crime. To learn more, visit www.statestats.com. For someone who loves to read as much as I do, I must admit I look forward to the bliss of resting my brain watching television for a few hours in the evening. One of the people who keeps me informed of what to watch is Alan Sepinwall, a TV critic and entertainment reporter for the Star-Ledger. So, naturally, when his new book, Stop Being a Hater and Learn to Love the O.C. ($9.95, Penguin softcover) arrived I was interested in this unauthorized guide to a very popular television show that I, admittedly, have never seen! If you or someone you know is a fan, this is definitely the book to get. Life in Orange County, California, as depicted in this show says the author fulfills the imagination of its viewers. This book is both a great defense and a love fest rolled up in one. 10 Secrets I Learned from the Apprentice ($9.95, Penguin softcover) by award-winning salesman and author, Anthony Parinello, calls on his expertise to extrapolate valuable lessons on how to succeed in the world of business based, of course, on the television show. This unauthorized book, written with Beth Gottfried, studies the episodes, the contestants, and Donald Trump himself to reveal techniques that boost the reader’s business savvy. Leonard Maltin’s 2005 Movie Guide ($8.99, Signet Books, New American Library) is just off the press and, as always, the fat paperback is jammed packed with information. The new edition includes more than 18,000 capsule movie reviews, 300 of which are new entries. There are also more than 13,000 videocassette and 8,000 DVD listings. In addition, there’s an up-to-date list of mail-order sources for buying and renting them. At more than 1630 pages, for movie buffs, this is a definitive source of data. There’s a clever new series on pregnancy from Da Capo Press, three softcover texts that offer a quick guide to pregnancy by Dr. Glade B. Curtis, OB/GYN and Judith Schuler, MS. Your Pregnancy ($7.95 each) offers advice on nutrition and weight management, tests and procedures, and fitness and exercise. Any expectant mother would benefit greatly from these concise books. For today’s fast-paced lives, they provide the kind of information that can be read and applied swiftly and easily. Did you know that, like the depression that can set it for some new mother’s after childbirth, it can happen for those who adopt? It’s not a topic that I have ever seen addressed before. The Post-Adoption Blues by Dr. Karen J. Foli, Ph.D., a registered nurse, and her husband, Dr. John R. Thompson, M.D. ($14.95, Rodale) is an uplifting book that offers solutions for the normal, but often unspoken feelings of stress that an estimated 1.3 million adoptive families encounter as they cope with new challenges and expectations. They drew on their own experience as adoptive parents as well as many interviews with others. The result is a book anyone contemplating adoption should read. At the other end of the age spectrum, there’s Aging is Not an Option: The Baby Boomer’s 10-Step Guide to a Long and Happy Life by Andrew Keith ($19.95, Ageless Publications, PO Box 251544, Plano, Texas 75025). So many health books concentrate on just one or two subjects, but as one ages, this is not enough. A variety of health problems emerge as a person ages. This book does an excellent job of covering a wide range of health topics, explaining the steps that are needed to deal with each in order to insure that they do not become problems and what to do if they are. If you or someone you know is encountering some common baby boomer problems such as sleep disorders, obesity, and diabetes, this book tells you what to do without becoming dependent on doctors, pills, and hospitalization. A book that addresses health issues for women of the boomer generation is Midlife Mamas on the Moon: Celebrate great health, friendships, sex, and money and launch your second life! by Sunny Hersh ($14.95, Fast Forward Publications, PO Box 573, Long Valley, NJ 07853). This year, the last of the 78 million baby boomers, those born in 1964, turn 40. And there are plenty of 50+ older boomers. This book is filled with honest personal stories, no-nonsense resources, and useful checklists. All of the issues that boomer ladies face are addressed without blushing. Changing relationships with one’s children, friends and aging parents are examined with advice on how to invigorate one’s marriage or survive a divorce, as well as how to approach intimacy with a new partner. The upbeat tone of the book is a tonic!
If you like reading about medical treatments, Burn Unit: Saving Lives After the Flames by Barbara Ravage ($26.00, Da Capo Press) will provide some interesting reading as she follows an extraordinary team of healers at Massachusetts General Hospital, the site of one of the burn units in the world. Over the years I have seen lots of books touting herbs or vitamins, whatever, as a solution to health problems. I lack the background to make an informed judgment of these books, but I was intrigued by The Rhodiola Revolution by two physicians, Dr. Richard P. Brown, M.D. and Dr. Patricia L. Gerbarg, M.D. ($21.95, Rodale) who explore the therapeutic powers of Rhodiola rosea, relative newcomer among herbs with health benefits. The authors review the growing body of scientific research that say this herb can deliver on its promise to enhance energy, fight the effects of stress and aging, sharpen memory, and do, according to this book, much more. If you’re looking for something new improve your energy, then you can begin by reading this book. Biographies and History, A Good Combination I have always been particularly fond of biographies, autobiographies, and anything to do with history. A number of excellent books in these categories have arrived and offer hours of interesting reading. Dallas Murphy has authored several novels, but his first great love is sailing. One of the great tests for any sailor is the fabled Cape Horn. It is a treacherous stretch of sea at the bottom of South America and it can conjure up a world of violent waves and wind. Rounding the Horn ($25.95, Basic Books) is the story of Murphy’s trip around the Horn aboard a 53-foot sloop and the tales of the many others who braved it such as Francis Drake and Charles Darwin. Whether you have ever set sail or not, this is a wonderful recounting of Murphy’s personal challenge. South America is the setting for The Mapmaker’s Wife by Robert Whitaker ($25.00, Basic Books), a true story of love, murder and survival in the Amazon. In 1769, Isabel Grameson, an upper class Peruvian woman, set out across the Andes and down the length of the Amazon in order to rejoin her husband in French Guiana. It was a 3,000-mile trip for someone who had never strayed far from her home. Much earlier, in 1741, a member of a French mapmaking expedition had married her, but international politics kept them apart. Their story and the dangers they faced to be reunited seems more like fiction than fact. It is nothing less than extraordinary.
World War II continues to generate books recounting that tumultuous time in US history. John Wukovits has written Pacific Alamo: The Battle for Wake Island ($14.00, New American Library softcover) that tells of the historic stand taken in December 1941 by 400 marines and hundreds of civilian construction workers against the first attack following Pearl Harbor for just a few days. By the end of the battle, the Japanese had learned Americans were not going to accept surrender without one hell of a fight. Only after they had run out of ammunition were the forced to capitulate. Wake would not return to American hands until the war was over. War Stories: Remembering World War II by Elizabeth Mullener ($14.00, Berkley Trade softcover), a great collection of fifty-three personal testimonies, each highlighting a major event of the war, and all collected in the author’s hometown of New Orleans. These are the "ordinary" stories of brave men and women who stood up for their country and for freedom. It is a true tour de force. The Vietnam War, too, generates its own stories and one of them is Rattler One-Seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot’s War Story by Chuck Gross ($27.95, University of North Texas Press, Denton, TX). When the author left for Vietnam in 1970, he was a 19-year-old Army pilot fresh out of flight school. He spent his tour with the 71st Assault Helicopter Company flying the now-fabled UH-1, "Huey" helicopters. Soon after the war, he wrote down his adventures while the memories were still fresh. The title was his call sign and he racked up a slew of adventures that veterans of that war will enjoy reliving with him. Others born after the conflict will get a true-life taste of what it was like. Anyone who enjoys military history will enjoy this memoir. On a brighter, happier note, when you watch the Grammy Awards, it is unlikely the name of Pierre Cosette rings a bell, but he is the man who put the Grammy’s on the map and, around Hollywood, he is literally a legend. For anyone who loves show business, his autobiography, Another Day in Showbiz: One Producer’s Journey ($19.95, ECW Press) will prove especially entertaining. Cosette has won just about every show business award you can name and his life is a rags-to-riches story of a poor kid from a small Quebec town who became the youngest agent at MCA, booking acts like Frank Sinatra, to becoming the man who made Celine Dion a household name. When he convinced CBS to televise the Grammy’s, he turned them into an annual event the whole world tuned it to watch. The icing on the cake is all the show business greats whose names are throughout the story of an amazing life. Children’s and Younger Reader’s Books The greatest legacy passed onto every new generation of Americans has been our devotion to liberty. Among the new books published by National Geographic are a number that will teach young readers about those who have passed the torch to them. Independence Now: The American Revolution 1763-1783 by Daniel Rosen ($12.95) is part of a "Crossroads America" series that deftly tells the story behind the Revolution and those who led it. Readers eight years and older will enjoy this beautifully told and illustrated story. Also part of this series is Railroad Fever by Monica Halpern ($12.95) who tells the story of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad from 1830 to 1870. This opened up America for settlement throughout the West and to the Pacific.
Frances Lincoln children’s books originate with this famed London publisher, but they are universal in their appeal. Three new books have crossed the ocean to be distributed by Publishers Group West. Two, by Jan Ormerod, are told entirely in pictures, Sunshine and Moonlight ($15.95) and will be understood by the child who has yet to have learned to read telling the story of a little girl who wakes in the morning and gets ready to start the day. The latter tells of preparing for bedtime after dinner. These familiar rituals will provide comfort to any child who recognizes a reflection of their own life. Help! By Christopher Inns ($14.95) takes the pre-or-early readers along with Doctor Hopper and Nurse Rex Barker, two toys, a bunny and a doggy, who are on emergency duty who jump in their ambulance to come to the aid of a "Smelliphant" that has sucked something up its trunk. Others in need of their aid include a giraffe and a pig about to give birth. Even a robot gets a helping hand with a new battery. A reading of this book may give birth to a future doctor or nurse. In the meantime, it will provide a lot of laughs. C.S. Harrington has begun a series of books with The Marsh Runners ($14.95, Trafford) set in her home State of North Carolina. In the first book, twelve-year-old Charlie Davis and eleven-year-old Cora Daniels are enjoying the last days of summer on its Outer Banks, along with their canine companions, Jack and Jill. Based on historical facts and on legends, the book provides a fast-paced tale of treacherous storms, hair-raising suspense, and daring rescues on land and at sea. If the younger reader in your life complains, "I’m bored", this is the book to hand them. They will soon be engrossed in a story early years of the last century, filled with still more stories of shipwrecks and other events. The illustrations by Vicki A. Wallace provide just enough pictures to add to the enjoyment of the story. I am already looking to the next book! We tend to take water for granted, but did you know it covers two-thirds of the earth’s surface? Or that nearly a million cloud droplets make up one raindrop? These and other fascinating facts about water are told in Randi and Michael Goodrich’s book, Hydro’s Adventure Through the Water Cycle ($24.95/$17.95, hard and softcover, GeoQuest Publicans, Lake Oswego, Oregon) and illustrated by Michele Han. A good book for those aged 7 through 12, that introduces them to the cycle that water takes from vapor to river, explaining how water takes many forms from a solid as ice to a gas to a liquid. Young readers with a thirst for knowledge about science will be delighted with this easy to understand trip into the world of water.
From Watson-Guptill Publications, famed publishers of books about the world of art and artists, comes Joyce Raimondo’s book Imagine That! Activities and Adventures in Surrealism ($12.95) that tells the story of six great artists and the world of imagination that art unlocks. Children from age five through twelve will enjoy this book that also shows how they can come up with their own fantastic art with 25 fun activities. In addition to the short biographies, the book abounds with a hundred full-color pictures. Art Explorers is a new series of art books for young people that may provide some new great artists of the future. Two leading authors of literature for younger readers, Avi, an award-winner of the Newberry honor, and Rachel Vail, author of the Friendship Ring series, have teamed up to write Never Mind! ($15.99, HarperCollins Publishers), a story about twins, Edward and Meg, who could not be more unlike one another. This novel is for the older crowd among young readers, twelve and up, and will delight them as these two battle it out as they individually experience life in the seventh grade of different schools. It has the ring of authenticity that boy and girl reader’s will instantly recognize and enjoy. Storytelling probably goes back to the earliest days of civilization when people entertained one another in this fashion. Today, the flow of novels from both mainstream publishers and from self-published authors is increasing daily. Here are some new novels that arrived since July. Atria Books are an imprint of Simon and Schuster. At Home in Covington by Joan Medlicott ($25.00, Atria) was published in July and is the fifth novel in the Covington series. It is a story of the resilience, creativity, and hope of three strong women who have chosen to pool their resources and share a home in a small mountain town. Various life issues are explored as these three face life together. Older readers, in particular, will find this novel of interest. That Girl Next Door by Patricia MacDonald ($24.00) tells the story of a struggling actress in New York, faced with a tragic scenario. Fifteen years earlier, her father was convicted of killing her mother. After earning a parole, she returns to her affluent hometown in New Jersey because he insists on re-settling there. While her brothers turn their backs on him, she never stops believing in his innocence. When he goes looking for evidence to clear his name, he is murdered. She needs to find out who did it before she becomes the next victim. If you like suspense, you will like this novel.
Softcover novels abound. Miracle Girl by Keith Scribner ($14.00, Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Putnam) will test your ability to suspend your notions about reality. It takes the reader to a small town that undergoes a big change when a beautiful and haunting vision proves to be a miracle girl in the form of Sue Phong, a Vietnamese-American, who has been appearing to residents in their dreams and curing their ailments. The main character, John F.K. Quinn sets out to prove this is a fraud, but finds himself face to face with her and she may, indeed, prove to be the miracle girl. The Summer of Glorious Madness by Christy Yorke ($14.00, Berkley, an imprint of the Penguin Group) tells the story of Dr. Elizabeth Shreve whose failing marriage brings her to the point of asking her husband to leave. He immediately begins living with a younger woman. She then finds herself being wooed by a former patient. Will she join him for a summer of glorious madness? You will have to read the novel to find out. Coiled in the Heart by Scott Elliott ($14.00, Berkley) marks his debut. Evoking the antebellum South, suburban sprawl, mint juleps and vodka martinis, and computer chips, the author creates a rich, haunting story of love, loss, guilt and redemption, with characters who hover in the ghost world between the present and the past. A dark secret from the past runs through the story and will keep you turning the pages. Red Dress Ink is a Canadian publishing firm and we can thank them for Babyface by Fiona Gibson ($12.95) whose experience as a mother of three led her to wonder why all the books about motherhood tended to leave out the part about how children can also make you crazy. Looking back on her child-rearing days, she has penned a very entertaining novel about a date that should have been just a one-night stand, but which results in pregnancy, a stranger for a mate, a new living arrangement, a divergent career path, and a new appreciation for motherhood. It is hilarious in its telling of the travails of this life-changing experience. Bethany House, based in Minneapolis, publishes novels that explore moral questions. One of its authors, James Scott Bell, writes the "Shannon Saga" series and the third, A Certain Truth, ($12.99) has just been published. Lawyer Kit Shannon fights for the rights of her clients and, in this story, while aboard an ocean liner with her new husband, she is contacted by a desperate women who fears something terrible is about to happen to her. And then the woman’s husband turns up dead on the ship, making her the leading suspect. This is an intricate story in which Kit goes in search of the truth and of justice. Another Bethany series is "Songs of the Night" by Jack Cavanaugh and his latest novel is Above All Earthly Powers ($12.99) that explores Christian activism from Hitler’s Reich, up through the Cold War confrontation with Communism. Beginning in Berlin following WWII, it tells the story of the struggle against enslavement led by a contentious coalition, led by Pastor Josef Schumacher, face danger to fight for freedom. There was a time when self-publishing oneself evoked some scorn, but many authors today find this the best way to find an audience for their work. A case in point is Lauren Steinhauer who called me one evening to tell me he had written a book based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective, Sherlock Holmes’s Lost Adventure: The True Story of the Giant Rats of Sumatra ($12.95, iUniverse) It takes a lot of chutzpa to walk in the footsteps of the great author, but Steinhauer has read his entire genre and it must be said his Sherlock Holmes does the master homage and provides a very entertaining story that takes Holmes and Dr. Watson across Europe in pursuit of a murderer. Beginning with the mundane theft of a typewriter, we soon learn of a new arch villain. The author evokes a Victorian London lighted by gaslight and has written a delightful mystery. To learn more and to purchase the novel, visit www.LaurenSteinhauer.com.
A fictitious Caribbean island is the setting for Sparky Thorne’s novel, The Carnival Never Ends ($14.95), a man who knows his way around the real Caribbean scene and, in fact, operates a Caribbean fine dining restaurant in Panama City, Florida. As vacationers sail or fly to these places, this novel takes a closer look at the dread locks and run, finding that mysterious superstitions and bewildering regulations. This is a dark comedy that reveals an insider’s view of Caribbean life that few vacationers ever experience. Thorne thought he was just taking a singing gig at a Caribbean resort, but that two weeks turned into nine years and this has given him the insights and knowledge that infuse this novel and the residents of his imaginary island. To learn more, visit www.sparkythorne.com. Like most self-published books these days, it can be purchased from the Amazon and Barnes and Noble web sites as well. S.L. Givhan has written and published A Forward Motion ($16.99, Imprint Books), a novel about an interracial romance set in the 1970s. In many ways, it is a historical drama starring African American cousins, Danielle and Crystal Alexander, who make their way from star struck teenagers to budding entrepreneurs. Ms. Givhan has authored a previous novel, a collection of personal essays, as well as poems and short stories. She is a skilled storyteller and this novel takes you from a troubled inner city storefront church to the rise of a hot black funk rock band. You will go from the neighborhood playground to the NBA to a luxurious lakefront condominium, and other places with the paths these two well-drawn characters take themselves and the reader. Check it out at http://booksbyslgivhan.com or just hop over to Amazon.com and pick up a copy! A small publisher out of New Jersey, Hopewell Publications (PO Box 11, Titusville, NJ 08560-0011) has found a gifted novelist, Christopher Klim, and has published two of his stories, previously Jesus Lives in Trenton and now, Everything Burns ($15.95), a sequel in which his photojournalist main character, Boot Means, finds himself tracking a serial arsonist across Texas. The killer is setting buildings on fire and burning children in the process. This is an exploration of the mind of a pyromaniac and Klim is gaining a lot of praise for his talent and skills. He has a good ear for realistic dialogue and has crafted a compelling story. To learn more, visit www.hopepubs.com. That’s it for August, but come back in September as Bookviews takes a look at the best in new fiction and non-fiction as autumn signals a new publishing avalanche of books. Don’t forget to visit our Featured Book section for information about some of the most unique and interesting books available to true literary connoisseurs. To contact the editor write to: acaruba@aol.com. |
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Contact: Alan Caruba |
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Jane Billinhurst has written a very clever book, Temptress, ($24.95/$19.95, Greystone Books, hard and softcover) that looks at the long history of the way women have been portrayed in the culture of early societies, in the Bible, and into modern times largely through films. The temptress, says the author, is the creation of men as a means to justify their domination by claiming to be the superior sex. She makes a good case for this. Beautifully illustrated, the book provides interesting insights and an entertaining, intellectual reading experience. Another interesting book is Michael Mandelbaum’s The Meaning of Sports ($26.00, Public Affairs, an imprint of Perseus Books) that examines America’s century-long love affair with baseball, football, and basketball. In the process, he explains how sports respond to deep human needs, describes how these sports became national institutions, and how they have evolved in the multi-million dollar enterprises they are today. For anyone who is seriously into sports, this is a serious book about all aspects of it and the way it has influenced the national psyche with its most famous figures. Perhaps this biggest surprise is to discover that the author is the Christian A. Herter Professor of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. Not only is he an expert in his own field, he has also penned an expert look at sports in America. 
Medical Tests That Can Save Your Life by Dr. David Johnson, Ph.D. and Dr. David Sandmire, M.D., with Daniel Klein, ($14.95, Rodale) is a treasure of information about many new breakthrough medical tests that have vastly improved diagnosis of potentially deadly diseases. However, most people don’t know these tests are available. This book changes that and, for anyone with an interest in protecting and maintaining their health, it may prove a lifesaver. Coping with Kidney Disease by Dr. Mackenzie Walser, M.D. and Betsey Thorpe ($16.95, Wiley) is the book for anyone diagnosed with kidney failure. Those who suffer from diabetes, hypertension, obesity, or any of a host of conditions are at risk for kidney disease so, if you know anyone who fits this description, give them this book or tell them about it. Some 60,000 Americans go on dialysis every year. This book is an excellent, easy to understand guide for those who need to recognize early warning signs, get a proper diagnosis, and evaluate treatment options. 
Marie Antoinette is a name that many people know without really knowing the story of this woman who was married the French Dauphin, a feckless fool. She would gain fame for her lavish fashions and court entertainments while the people of France grew hostile under increased taxation. To the Scaffold: The Life of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson ($17.95, St. Martin’s Press softcover) has written a sympathetic and interesting biography of this woman who followed her husband to the guillotine, an aged, white-haired widow, not yet forty. A Beautiful Pageant by David Krasner ($19.95, Palgrave, softcover) examines the famed Harlem Renaissance of 1910 to 1927 when African American achievements in the arts burst forth, particularly in the theatre, although it also included literature and music as well. Concentrating on drama, Krasner, director of the Yale University undergraduate theatre program, has written the first comprehensive history of the performances and entertainment that fueled that creative period. He has written an excellent history of those times.
Building Liberty: A Statue is Born by Serge Hocham ($16.95) is told through the eyes of boy whose apprenticeship in the workshop of metal smiths lets him see how the famed statue was built in France and transported to America. This larger, handsomely illustrated book is among a number of other titles that address a number of subjects that are sure to entertain a young reader. Among them is Remember D-Day by Ronald J. Drez, with a forward by David Eisenhower ($17.95). This seminal event at the mid-point of the last century is "ancient" history to today’s generation, but this book brings it alive, telling of the plan, the invasion, and stories of those who survived it. Filled with photos that enhance the story, it is history at its best for those who must learn from it. Truly ancient history is told in Curse of the Pharaohs: My Adventures with Mummies by Zahi Hawass, the director of excavations at the Giza Pyramids and the Valley of the Golden Mummies ($19.95). Sumptuously illustrated, this book will appeal to those twelve years and older whose interest in that long ago civilization may have been piqued by seeing something about it on television. Forces of Nature by Catherine O’Neill Grace ($17.95) provides an introduction to the awesome power of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Its photos are extraordinary, as is the information provided about these natural events that remind humans that nature is truly in charge. For the scientifically inclined and curious reader, twelve and older, this book will stimulate the desire to learn more. Just in time for the Summer Olympics comes Swifter, Higher, Stronger ($18.95), a photographic history of the last hundred years of these games. Told by Sue Macy with a foreword by Bob Costas, its excellent text will inspire any young athlete.
Let’s not forget, though, that sometimes we just read for the sheer fun of a good story. Happily, Hyperion/Disney has published a series called Witch about five friends who use their powers to solve various mysteries in individual titles that include The Fire of Friendship, The Power of Five, Finding Meridian, and The Disappearance. At $4.95 each, they are a real bargain from the pen of Elizabeth Lenhard. Readers twelve years and older will enjoy these adventures shared by Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin. Their magical powers will prove entrancing to young readers.
Mystery and suspense is also found in A Mourning in Autumn by Harker Moore ($25.00, Mysterious Press, an imprint of Warner Books). In Moore’s first novel, A Cruel Season for Dying, Jimmy Sakura, a Japanese-American homicide detective was introduced and he returns to the back alleys of New York to track a fiendish killer who suffocates his female victims. This is a complex, intriguing thriller filled with richly drawn characters and taunt drama. For a terrific new thriller, don’t miss out on Michael McGarrity’s Slow Kill ($23.95, Dutton), the ninth in his acclaimed Kevin Kerney series. Garrity brings real life experience to his work, having been a former investigator in New Mexico, so it should come as no surprise that Santa Fe is the setting. In this story, the Santa Fe Police Chief finds himself as the prime suspect in a possible homicide when a guest at a ranch he’s visiting is found dead. As he investigates, he comes across a very complex family connection to the murder going back thirty years. He must solve that mystery if he is to clear his name. You will keep reading until he does. If you still need suspense "fix", pick up Nowhere to Run ($6.99, St. Martin’s Press), a paperback by Mary Jane Clark that is set in the offices of a newsroom that has been locked down due to an anthrax scare. No one can get in or get out, but it turns out to be smoke screen used by a killer who aims to kill everyone there, one by one. As the body count rises, you will keep reading to find out the identity of the killer.
Another iUniverse author, R. J. Revaitis, has written Park Avenue Rich ($14.95), a story inspired by a con artist that CourtTV dubbed the "counterfeit Rockefeller." In this novel, Jimmy Cavanaugh is a fellow who has recently shown up on the New York high society scene. His good looks and smooth manner intrigues Manhattan’s most eligible women and one in particular, Freddie von Eckhardt, is an heiress and wild child with a billion dollar trust fund. She is the ultimate target for Jimmy and the author has penned a fast paced, sexy thriller that explores the arrogance and excesses of the very, very rich. Can Jimmy con his way to wealth? Check this novel out on the iUniverse web site.