Elyse Graham’s thrilling history of how scholars and librarians helped the U.S. outsmart the Nazis is a pulpy delight.

Lifestyles, Nonfiction, Social Science

Eerie Legends

Bold, offbeat illustrations by Ricardo Diseño lead the way in the spooky-fun Eerie Legends.

Essays, Nature, Nonfiction

This Is How a Robin Drinks

Naturalist Joanna Brichetto uncovers the beauty of urban landscapes in her wonder-inducing debut, This Is How a Robin Drinks.

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The second-worst thing that gonzo chef, writer and intrepid traveler Anthony Bourdain has ever eaten, he claims, was the notoriously stinky fermented shark served to him in Iceland. This chef-turned-author and TV host (Kitchen Confidential, A Cook’s Tour ) braves the rigors of the road and many an eclectic cuisine in No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach, a companion photo scrapbook to his latest Travel Channel television show.

With just a five-person crew, a couple of cameras and a soupcon of offbeat sensibility, Bourdain and his cohorts reveal the world and its variant cultures through the lens of our universal human need to eat. From Asia to Africa, Paris to Beirut and on to our own great continent, they poke into unusual corners, alleys and the occasional jungle to capture on film an honest and direct recording of the way life is lived in the rest of the world. No Reservations features the crew’s own photos, behind-the-scenes glimpses of how the TV show comes together (or not), and Bourdain’s bad-boy wit and acerbic commentary via small essays and photo captions. And, as he and his cohorts are travel pros, there’s a down-and-dirty critique of the best and worst lavatories worldwide, and a commentary on indigenous beverages (most of which, he says, you must imbibe in order not to offend your host). Zany antics aside, No Reservations amply reflects Bourdain’s search for the heart and soul of humanity and, of course, the ultimate roast pig.

The second-worst thing that gonzo chef, writer and intrepid traveler Anthony Bourdain has ever eaten, he claims, was the notoriously stinky fermented shark served to him in Iceland. This chef-turned-author and TV host (Kitchen Confidential, A Cook’s Tour ) braves the rigors of the road and many an eclectic cuisine in No Reservations: Around the […]

Before your eyes

by bookpagedev

History

History

Hands-on history

Review by bookpagedev

by Alison Hood

David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian, has improved upon his best-selling history, 1776, with 1776: The Illustrated Edition. An interactive version that includes relevant period artwork and facsimiles of historic maps, documents, broadsides, newspapers and correspondence, this beautifully designed edition adds a visual grace note to McCullough’s eloquent, moving text. The narrative is abridged from the original book, but it is no less informative the full impact of the trials of Gen. George Washington and America’s fledgling rebel army is brought startlingly to life with the addition of famous images such as Washington Crossing the Delaware and portraits of key personages like Gen. Nathanael Greene, Alexander Hamilton and Gen. Henry Knox.

Tucked throughout the book are vellum envelopes filled with removable reproductions of historical documents, most notably Washington’s letters to his wife and colleagues and recollections of the war from Continental Army soldiers. McCullough has wonderfully re-created the times that try men’s souls, not only from the American perspective, but from the viewpoint of the British commanders and Loyalists. This is a robust and insightful look into the hard-won freedom of our nation.

David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian, has improved upon his best-selling history, 1776, with 1776: The Illustrated Edition. An interactive version that includes relevant period artwork and facsimiles of historic maps, documents, broadsides, newspapers and correspondence, this beautifully designed edition adds a visual grace note to McCullough’s eloquent, moving text. The narrative is abridged […]

Rebuilding fractured bonds

by Linda Stankard

Environment, Lifestyles

Lifestyles Environment

The best of both worlds

Review by Deanna Larson

by Deanna Larson

Will present and future generations help protect our planet from neglect and abuse, or will the social and political mechanisms of the market economy win out? In The Fate of Nature, award-winning writer Charles Wohlforth (The Whale and the Supercomputer) argues that humans are inexorably linked to nature and “if we’re to imprint good will on the world, those wishes have to vie in the same arena as our selfishness.”

Wohlforth—a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News—examines the many challenges in preserving “wild nature,” the slippery cause and effect of the many issues and conflicts in environmentalism and conservation, focusing on the ocean, mountains, harbors and ancient communities of his native Alaska. Among many other angles, he looks at the history of conservation, property rights vs. community rights, how change happens and, most notably, how communities both thrived and failed in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. “Simply changing the menu of wants is not enough,” Wohlforth writes. “[It] depends on changing the social economic and political system that values wants. We are built to be cooperators and altruists, too—givers, not only wanters. We are capable of joining in communities that elevate our love instead of our drives.”

Intellectual, philosophical and packed with feeling, Wohlforth’s hopeful arguments for preserving our natural world are also practical and ring true as a bell, a gentle pause in the noise that often takes the place of civilized debate on the topic. “Stronger than our greed and materialism,” he writes, “most of us feel a connection to other people, to animals and wild places, and when we’re faced with a choice between those sources of meaning and our own material gain, we tend to prefer fairness and the bonds of the heart over getting ahead.” Readers will surely hope he is right.

Will present and future generations help protect our planet from neglect and abuse, or will the social and political mechanisms of the market economy win out? In The Fate of Nature, award-winning writer Charles Wohlforth (The Whale and the Supercomputer) argues that humans are inexorably linked to nature and “if we’re to imprint good will […]

American power in the post-war era

by Roger Bishop

Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

All they need is a miracle

Review by bookpagedev

by Katie Lewis

Set in the late 19th century, The Prayer Chest by August Gold and Joel Fontinos is a story of fate, spirituality and mystery. The men in the Hutchinson family have a curse hanging over their heads that takes their lives at a young age. Joseph Hutchinson tries to outwit the curse, but his bargaining leads to his wife’s death. He mourns by distancing himself from his two young children, Daniel and Mary, and his grief is compounded when he learns he’s about to lose his farm. Desperate and angry, Joseph retreats to the attic, where he discovers a gift that profoundly touches lives: a wooden box that carries the message Bring your prayers to the Prayer Chest, my son, and all that you ask shall be answered one by one, and a book of instructions, written by a Hutchinson ancestor.

The characters soon understand that the magic of the chest comes from within. But can a man who’s forgotten how to trust have faith that the Prayer Chest will save his family? With their livelihood and hearts on the line, Joseph, Mary and Daniel strive to embrace the power of their discovery and pray for miracles.

Set in the late 19th century, The Prayer Chest by August Gold and Joel Fontinos is a story of fate, spirituality and mystery. The men in the Hutchinson family have a curse hanging over their heads that takes their lives at a young age. Joseph Hutchinson tries to outwit the curse, but his bargaining leads […]

Life and love among the Amish

by bookpagedev

Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

A spiritual leader

Review by bookpagedev

by Katie Lewis

Otto Ringling narrates Breakfast with Buddha, the latest offering from Roland Merullo (Golfing with God), with a side order of scrambled skepticism. And why shouldn’t he? He’s on a cross-country road trip with a cryptic robe-wearing monk. Otto was suckered into taking his sister’s guru along for the ride from New Jersey to his parents’ North Dakota farm, and Rinpoche isn’t making it any easier. The peaceful stranger is short on words but big on riddles, and Otto progresses from frustration with his enigmatic companion to amusement at the man’s ability to find joy in small things to a quiet admiration for the spiritual leader everyone seems to revere.

Somewhere between bowling and yoga class, Rinpoche teaches Otto to examine himself, and readers will be rooting for the success of this unlikely pair. Merullo’s clear writing ensures that readers will master Rinpoche’s sometimes cryptic reflections as well.

Otto Ringling narrates Breakfast with Buddha, the latest offering from Roland Merullo (Golfing with God), with a side order of scrambled skepticism. And why shouldn’t he? He’s on a cross-country road trip with a cryptic robe-wearing monk. Otto was suckered into taking his sister’s guru along for the ride from New Jersey to his parents’ […]

Raw memoir from talented food writer

by Marianne Peters

Religion & Spirituality

Religion & Spirituality

Surviving loss

Review by bookpagedev

by Katie Lewis

Just Beyond the Clouds is a glimpse of love from different angles. More than anything else, widower Cody Gunner mourns his late wife Ali and loves his brother Carl Joseph, who has Down syndrome. When he takes time off work to visit his family, Cody discovers that Carl Joseph isn’t quite the same: He knows the bus schedules, has table manners and is learning life skills at the local Independent Learning Center. Troubled by his brother’s joyous conviction that he’ll soon be living on his own, Cody confronts the clinic’s director, Elle Dalton. The overly protective older brother advocates for Carl Joseph’s removal from the clinic, but Elle’s faith in her students and their development as well as her beauty does not go unnoticed by Cody, who feels disloyal to Ali. Karen Kingsbury is a prolific and best-selling author in the Christian fiction world, and her simple, romantic stories keep readers coming back for more.

Just Beyond the Clouds is a glimpse of love from different angles. More than anything else, widower Cody Gunner mourns his late wife Ali and loves his brother Carl Joseph, who has Down syndrome. When he takes time off work to visit his family, Cody discovers that Carl Joseph isn’t quite the same: He knows […]

It’s true: practice makes perfect

by Ruth Douillette

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