Deborah Hopkinson

NonfictionHistoryAmerican History

White Shoe

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

If you’re not familiar with the term “white shoe,” never fear. Author and retired Wall Street lawyer John Oller explains this and much more in the captivating White Shoe: How a New Breed of Wall Street Lawyers Changed Big Business and the American Century. (For the record, “white shoe” refers to the white buck shoes worn by the Ivy League college men who shaped the leading firms on Wall Street.)

If Oller once wrote dry, impenetrable legal briefs, there’s no hint of it here. His narrative sparkles with details that set this study of the legal profession’s influence on big business into a fascinating historical context. Oller begins at the turn of the 20th century, when most lawyers were willing to adopt the newly introduced paper clip—but not much else. (The profession was also slow to use telephones and typewriters.)

Enter Paul Cravath, one of several colorful figures brought to life in Oller’s book. Cravath launched an entirely new model of management for a law firm, and represented George Westinghouse in a legal battle with Thomas Edison in what has become known as the “light bulb war.” Other figures who reshaped the profession were Frank Stetson, who represented J.P. Morgan; William Nelson Cromwell, the man who “taught the robber barons how to rob”; and John Foster Dulles, who, Cravath argues, had a large hand in shaping the entire 20th century.

In an epilogue, Oller quotes attorney Paul Cravath in 1929, before the stock market crash, who opines that big business is “perhaps the most serious menace of our age in its social consequences upon American life.” Now, nearly a century later, as America continues to grapple with the role of corporations in politics and policy-making, it’s worth looking back at the men and forces that have made big business what it is today.

If you’re not familiar with the term “white shoe,” never fear. Author and retired Wall Street lawyer John Oller explains this and much more in the captivating White Shoe: How a New Breed of Wall Street Lawyers Changed Big Business and the American Century. (For the record, “white shoe” refers to the white buck shoes worn by the Ivy League college men who shaped the leading firms on Wall Street.)

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Actor Thomas Lennon—who has appeared in TV’s “Reno 911!” and films such as Memento—and acclaimed illustrator John Hendrix (The Faithful Spy) have teamed up for a rollicking new fantasy adventure series.

Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles follows 14-year-old Ronan, a new recruit in a secret unit of the Irish police focused on the crimes of leprechauns. Ronan’s parents have been jailed for theft, but Ronan is convinced they were framed by the faerie folk. Overcoming his own shortcomings (severe food allergies, social awkwardness), Ronan sets out to prove his parents are indeed the innocent, bookish curators they claim to be.

Humor wins out over drama here, and Hendrix’s detailed maps and full-page illustrations of Ronan’s exploits contribute to the tongue-in-cheek nature of the tale. Footnotes that define Irish terms also add to the hilarity, but along with its high spirits and high jinks, Lennon’s debut novel is clearly rooted in an authentic love and appreciation of his Irish heritage. And best of all? Ronan survives to win a promotion just in time for his next adventure, which is sure to delight fantasy fans eager for a new hero.

Actor Thomas Lennon—who has appeared in TV’s “Reno 911!” and films such as Memento—and acclaimed illustrator John Hendrix (The Faithful Spy) have teamed up for a rollicking new fantasy adventure series.

YA FictionYA

Spectacle

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Debut author Jodie Lynn Zdrok transports readers to 1887 Paris in this fascinating YA murder mystery that follows a 16-year-old newspaper reporter named Nathalie Baudin. Nathalie finds her new beat—reporting on the unclaimed bodies that show up at the public morgue—fascinating but also a bit grisly. As the story opens, we find her waiting her turn in an incredibly long line to enter a morgue. Morgue viewing was indeed a popular pastime in fin de siècle Paris—even for families with young children.

But soon one corpse claims Nathalie’s attention: a young woman, hardly more than a girl, who was viciously stabbed. As she looks at the girl, Nathalie suddenly finds herself transported to the scene of the murder and relives the girl’s final moments. Nathalie feels shaken to her core, “as if the horror she’d witnessed was both real and not real.” The incident marks the beginning of Nathalie’s quest to understand her strange new supernatural abilities and harness them to help find the serial killer who is terrorizing the city

Zdrok holds a degree in European history, and her writing sparkles with details that evoke 19th-century Paris. Spectacle’s cliffhanger ending will leave readers eager for Nathalie’s next case. 

Debut author Jodie Lynn Zdrok transports readers to 1887 Paris in this fascinating YA murder mystery that follows a 16-year-old newspaper reporter named Nathalie Baudin.

NonfictionHistory

Spies of No Country

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Journalist Matti Friedman has reported from around the world, including Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Moscow, and is the author of Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story of a Forgotten War, about Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book. In his new book, Spies of No Country, Friedman, who is now based in Jerusalem, combines his in-depth knowledge of Israel with a riveting narrative to recount the story of the Arab Section, an Israeli spy operation active from January 1948 to August 1949.

The Arab Section began with a dozen spies (several were caught), but Friedman focuses on four men here, all in their early 20s in 1948, and follows them in amazing detail. Only one, Isaac Shoshan, now in his 90s, is still living, and this book sprang from Friedman’s interviews with him over several years. Friedman notes, “I’ve learned over years as a reporter that time spent with old spies is never time wasted.” And that was especially true in this case. As Friedman reflects, “His memory was a sharp blade.”

Those memories help to illuminate a tension-filled tale of espionage during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, with Shoshan and others operating undercover in Beirut. The spies of the Arab Section formed what would later become Mossad, Israel’s infamous intelligence agency.

Based on both interviews and archives, Friedman drops readers into the complex, shifting and dangerous landscape of the 1948 conflict. Spies of No Country is a fascinating journey into the past that reads like a spy novel—except in this case, it’s all true.

Journalist Matti Friedman has reported from around the world, including Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Moscow, and is the author of Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story of a Forgotten War, about Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book. In his new book, Spies of No Country, Friedman, who is now based in Jerusalem, combines his in-depth knowledge of Israel with a riveting narrative to recount the story of the Arab Section, an Israeli spy operation active from January 1948 to August 1949.

NonfictionHistory

Nature’s Mutiny

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Climate change: It may well be the most significant challenge of the 21st century—or any other. But how much do we know about the impact that significant climate change had on societies in the past?

In Nature’s Mutiny, historian Philipp Blom examines the Little Ice Age, the great climate crisis of the 16th century, and traces the powerful—and often expected changes—it had on Europe. This is not, by any means, a dry treatise. Blom begins by reflecting on a painting of a winter landscape by the Dutch artist Hendrick Avercamp. On the surface it appears to be an idyllic depiction of a community enjoying the ice. But there is more to be seen here. Blom writes, “Avercamp’s landscapes describe this frigid world and hint at the new social order that would emerge from it.”

The Little Ice Age lasted a century. It brought about harsh frosts, poor harvests and significant changes in European societies. Blom’s analysis encompasses economics, philosophy, commerce and migration. Throughout, he addresses one key overriding question: “What changes in society when climate changes?”

Blom’s conclusion is a sober one. He writes that “it is possible, perhaps likely, that the current economic and political principles of highly developed societies—growth and exploitation—will result in their decline or even collapse.”

There is fear, Blom tells us—something we already know. But he also affirms, “There must be hope.” Blom’s compelling examination of how societies and cities adapted to unexpected change in the past is both fascinating history and a timely title for our own time.

Climate change: It may well be the most significant challenge of the 21st century—or any other. But how much do we know about the impact that significant climate change had on societies in the past?

Children's & YAPicture Book

What Is Given from the Heart

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

What Is Given from the Heart is a fitting title for the last picture book written by Patricia C. McKissack, who passed away in 2017. Along with her husband, Fred, McKissack helped to shine a light not only on African American history, but on the ties that bind families and communities together. McKissack’s award-winning books include Mirandy and Brother Wind, a Caldecott Honor- and Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel, and The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, also a Coretta Scott King and Newbery Honor winner.

Generosity of spirit defined McKissack as a writer and a person. And that compassion shines through in this picture book about a widow and her young son, James Otis, who are struggling to survive. When Reverend Dennis announces that 7-year-old Sarah and her mother have lost everything in a fire, James Otis struggles with his mother’s request that he can find “a li’l bit of something” to give the girl. At first, the 9-year-old boy isn’t quite sure what he can bear to part with; the solution he devises makes his mother proud and brings Sarah joy. The story ends when James Otis and his mother receive an unexpected gift themselves—a confirmation that they are also seen and loved by their community.

First-time illustrator April Harrison’s illustrations make this quiet, heartfelt story come alive. Harrison is a fine artist whose work has been featured in museums, galleries and private collections. (Whoopi Goldberg owns one of her paintings!) McKissack would have been delighted by this work, and readers will treasure this special book for a long time to come.

What Is Given from the Heart is a fitting title for the last picture book written by award-winning children's author Patricia C. McKissack, who passed away in 2017.

YA FictionYAHistorical Fiction

A Thousand Sisters

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

BookPage Top Pick in Young Adult, starred review, February 2019

Award-winning author Elizabeth Wein is renowned for her vivid prose, compelling characters and riveting plots in historical fiction like Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire, both of which feature female pilots in World War II. In her new nonfiction work, A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II, Wein brings her masterful storytelling skills to the little-known role of female Soviet combat pilots known as the Night Witches.

Wein is a pilot herself, and her respect for these intrepid airwomen and the challenges they faced is clear. “This is the story of a generation of girls who were raised in the belief that they were as good as men, and who were raised to believe that it was their destiny to defend their nation in battle,” she writes.

At the heart of the Soviet training program for women was pilot Marina Raskova, and by chronicling Raskova’s youth against the backdrop of Russia’s political climate, Wein effectively provides historical background for her audience. Raskova’s achievements made her a natural as a flight instructor, and her three regiments of Soviet airwomen, including the famed 588th Night Bomber Regiment, became the first women to take part in combat operations. Wein follows a number of women whose exploits made history and also examines the social and political climate that caused the number of female pilots to drop after the war.

At a time when books on World War II are increasingly in demand, this fascinating story is sure to appeal to readers of all ages. In a closing section, Wein notes that only about 5 percent of commercial pilots today are women. By bringing attention to this little-known history, A Thousand Sisters just might help inspire some young readers to change that.

 

This article was originally published in the February 2019 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In Elizabeth Wein's new nonfiction work, <b>A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II</b>, Wein brings her masterful storytelling skills to the little-known role of female Soviet combat pilots known as the Night Witches.</p>

NonfictionHistory

Henry VIII: And the Men Who Made Him

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Henry VIII is most often remembered as the king with six wives. But in her fascinating new biography, Henry VIII: And the Men Who Made Him, Tracy Borman argues that as a monarch and as a man, Henry is best understood by examining his relationships with the men who surrounded him.

Throughout his life, Henry was at the center of a tumultuous group at court, from advisers like Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell to scholar Thomas More and the powerful dukes of Buckingham and Norfolk. Borman writes, “It was these men who shaped Henry into the man—and the monster—that he would become.”

Borman, who serves as curator of Britain’s Historic Royal Palaces, has a long familiarity with the Tudors. She has written a book about their private lives as well as a biography of Cromwell. (A confession: I can no longer imagine him as anyone other than Mark Rylance, thanks to his masterful portrayal in the BBC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.) Here, Borman’s deep background knowledge serves her—and the reader—well. The pages and years fly by, and one has the feeling of stepping into an engaging historical lecture by a master of the subject.

The study follows a chronological approach, and Borman shines a light on some lesser- known characters as well as the major players. We also see more of how those in Henry’s inner circle of advisers, aristocrats and servants interacted with one another. Throughout, Borman uses events to peel back layers of Henry’s character, arguing that his relationships with men “show him to be capable of fierce, but seldom abiding loyalty; of raising men only to destroy them later.”

For readers curious about royal history or fascinated by the styles of leaders in our own time, Henry VIII: And the Men Who Made Him makes for a compelling read. And it will hopefully tide committed Tudor fans over until Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light, the final book in her trilogy about Cromwell, comes out—whenever that may be.

 

This article was originally published in the January 2019 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Henry VIII is most often remembered as the king with six wives. But in her fascinating new biography, Henry VIII: And the Men Who Made Him, Tracy Borman argues that as a monarch and as a man, Henry is best understood by examining his relationships with the men who surrounded him. Throughout his life, Henry was at the center of a tumultuous group at court, from advisers like Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell to scholar Thomas More and the powerful dukes of Buckingham and Norfolk. Borman writes, “It was these men who shaped Henry into the man—and the monster—that he would become.”

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Ogre Enchanted

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Gail Carson Levine’s Newbery Honor-winning novel Ella Enchanted, originally published in 1997, has become a classic in children’s literature. Fans will eagerly return to the kingdom of Kyria for this prequel featuring Evie, a 15-year-old healer. Once again, the fairy Lucinda performs some meddlesome magic, and this time she transforms Evie into an ogre after the girl rejects a proposal of marriage from her best friend, Wormy. Evie is given just 62 days to accept a marriage proposal or she will be forced to remain an ogre forever—an unpleasant prospect since ogres smell bad and have ferocious appetites!

Evie is determined not to eat any humans in her orge form (especially not her mother or Wormy), and she is equally set on regaining her human form by finding someone else who’s willing to propose to her. And to do that, she must learn the art of persuasion. Evie sets off on her quest, and things start to look up (at least for a time) when she meets a handsome merchant named Peter. 

In this enchanting story, Evie’s adventures test her resolve in many ways (most especially when it comes to curbing her ogre appetites). But no matter her shape or the size of her meals, she remains true to the call of healing and to her family and friends.

Gail Carson Levine’s Newbery Honor-winning novel Ella Enchanted, originally published in 1997, has become a classic in children’s literature. Fans will eagerly return to the kingdom of Kyria for this prequel featuring Evie, a 15-year-old healer. Once again, the fairy Lucinda performs some meddlesome magic, and…

Children's & YAPicture Book

Do You Believe in Unicorns?

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Young readers will want to pay close attention to the illustrations in Bethanie Deeney Murguia’s charming new picture book about a unicorn disguised (maybe) as a horse. But then, to see a unicorn, you have to be watching pretty carefully anyway, right?

The story opens at sunrise, with a lizard who is waiting for the white horse in the stable to wake up. And maybe this is just a horse in a red hat; a horse who’s having a bad hair day; a horse who wants to keep the sun out of its eyes. I mean, really, if it was a unicorn, would it want to hide its glorious horn under a hat?

Still, discerning young readers will notice some very unusual things happening as this four-legged creature trots out and about. Are those flowers springing up under its hooves? Are those butterflies following in its wake? And is that a rainbow over its head? And, wait! Is that a magical palace with peaks that look, well, remarkably like unicorn horns?

With clever illustrations and a whimsical, conversational tone that’s perfect for storytime and read-alouds, Do You Believe in Unicorns? is sure to entrance readers of any age who may want a little more magic in their everyday lives. In Murguia’s world, all magic takes is believing.

With clever illustrations and a whimsical, conversational tone that’s perfect for storytime and read-alouds, Do you Believe in Unicorns? is sure to entrance readers of any age who may want a little more magic in their everyday lives.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

The Faithful Spy

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

Author-illustrator John Hendrix brings his considerable talents to this nonfiction graphic exploration of the German resistance during World War II and the fascinating story of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer, a double agent who played a role in the failed plot to kill Hitler, was hanged by the Nazis on April 9, 1945, just weeks before the end of the war.

Through black-and-white hand-lettering along with teal, red and black illustrations, Hendrix provides historical context of the post-World War I factors that led to the Nazis’ assumption of power in 1933. Ample white space allows readers to move easily from frame to frame without being overwhelmed by colors. The intensity is already there, of course, in the story itself. In the back matter, Hendrix modestly disavows being a scholar, but The Faithful Spy provides just the right amount of historical information while simultaneously hooking readers on Bonhoeffer’s tragic journey. Direct quotations are flagged with an asterisk, allowing curious readers to trace sources in the notes.

The Faithful Spy is exactly the kind of accessible, innovative page turner sure to entice new readers to the graphic format and the burgeoning genre of middle grade nonfiction. Truly a tour de force.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Author-illustrator John Hendrix brings his considerable talents to this nonfiction graphic exploration of the German resistance during World War II and the fascinating story of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer, a double agent who played a role in the failed plot to kill Hitler, was hanged by the Nazis on April 9, 1945, just weeks before the end of the war.

Children's & YAPicture Book

The Night Box

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

In this double debut from Scottish poet Louise Greig and Irish illustrator Ashling Lindsay, the coming of darkness is imagined as The Night Box.

A little boy named Max is outside his house in the country as the light fades. It’s time to wave goodbye to the day and come in, but a box is waiting, and Max has the key. While his kitten looks on, Max opens the Night Box, and magical darkness begins to pour out: “Darkness tumbles into the air. / It dances and whirls around the room.”

Greig imagines the character of Night through wonderful imagery: Night is mischievous, chasing other colors away; Night is huge, big enough to hold a house, a pond and a forest. And as Night “soars, streams, stretches up to the sky,” a thousand stars appear.

This is, of course, a bedtime story, and the gentleness of Night comes through Lindsay’s rustic, comforting illustrations, in which lots of white space keeps this tale from being too dark.

In the morning, Max opens the box and “WHOOSH! Night slips inside as Day sweeps out.”

First published in the U.K. in 2017, this beautiful, award-winning picture book has the appeal of a classic and is sure to be a hit with readers and families in the U.S.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In this double debut from Scottish poet Louise Greig and Irish illustrator Ashling Lindsay, the coming of darkness is imagined as The Night Box.

NonfictionHistoryAmerican History

Leadership

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

With Leadership: In Turbulent Times, pre-eminent presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin turns her perceptive lens to a question on the minds of many Americans these days: What is leadership?

But the “turbulent times” of the title are not, in fact, our own. Instead, Goodwin examines the leadership styles and challenges facing four previous United States presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Goodwin has written about these men in previous works, but her approach here uncovers new insights and understanding—both for readers and for herself. “After five decades of studying presidential history, examining these four men through the lens of leadership allowed me to discover so many new things about them that I felt as if I was meeting them for the first time,” Goodwin reflects.

Readers will share that sense of discovery. Goodwin divides her study into three thematic areas: Ambition and the Recognition of Leadership; Adversity and Growth; and The Leader and the Times: How They Led. Within these sections, she devotes a chapter to each president. These chapters are chronological, allowing the reader to better appreciate and understand the historical forces that shaped the four presidents’ growth and decisions.

In the final section, Goodwin examines different kinds of leadership: transformational, crisis management, turnaround and visionary. Readers follow Lincoln as he grapples with the Emancipation Proclamation, Teddy Roosevelt as he deals with the coal strike of 1902, FDR through the first hundred days of his presidency in 1933 and Johnson as he approaches civil rights.

In an epilogue titled “On Death and Remembrance,” Goodwin reflects on the final days of each president and their legacies for us today. With Leadership, Pulitzer Prize winner Goodwin cements her reputation as a scholar with a remarkable ability to bring the complexities of our past to life for everyday readers. It’s a welcome gift indeed.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

With Leadership: In Turbulent Times, pre-eminent presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin turns her perceptive lens to a question on the minds of many Americans these days: What is leadership?

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