My LINKcat AccountEarlier this week we celebrated Veterans Day which marks the end of War World I. In 1918, the hostilities ended with a cease fire on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. During the course of that war over 65 million soldiers were mobilized. Experts think 10 million soldiers died and another 20 million were wounded. Some of the outgrowths of that war were the Russian Revolution that occurred in 1917, the redrawing of the maps of Europe after the war and a generation of young men who died or suffered battle fatigue or injuries from exposure to poison gas. It was a war fought with many of the same weapons used in the U.S. Civil War but with tanks, airplanes, some motor vehicles and zeppelins too. It was a horrific war. It was called the “war to end all wars”, but it didn’t. Instead, it did set up the conditions for the next world. We celebrate November 11th as “Veterans’ Day” while in the British Commonwealth countries, it’s called “Remembrance Day” or “Poppy Day”. It probably is a good idea to reflect on the costs and sacrifices of wars at least annually. The day peace broke out to end that first global war seems a good time to do that. I’ll leave you with the first verse of John McCrae’s famous poem: “In Flanders fields the poppies blow/ Between the crosses, row on row,/That mark our place; and in the sky/The larks, still bravely singing, fly/ Scarce heard amid the guns below.”
New Non-Fiction
No hero : the evolution of a Navy SEAL / by Mark Owen & Kevin Mauer. The author of the best-selling "No Easy Day" recounts definitive moments from his career as a Navy SEAL that shaped his views as an operator, explaining the lessons and values he would impart to a new generation of soldiers.
The zimzum of love : a new way of understanding marriage / by Bob & Kristen Bell. The "New York Times" best-selling author of "Love Wins" and his wife apply the Hebrew word zimzum, the dynamic energy between two partners, to marriage, probing the mystery at the heart of the extraordinary emotional connection that binds two people.
Billy Joel / by Fred Schruers. Draws on exclusive interviews to profile the acclaimed music artist's life and career, discussing such topics as his Long Island suburb upbringing, entry into the 1970s music scene and relationships with his closest associates.
The good son : JFK Jr. and the mother he loved / by Christopher Andersen. The best-selling author of “William and Kate” details the life of JFK Jr. to commemorate the 15th anniversary of his tragic plane crash, assessing his definitive relationships with his mother and other women while chronicling the aftermath of his early death.
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis : the untold story / by Barbara Leaming. A book that explores the seemingly magical world of Jackie Onassis' youth, her fairy-tale marriage to a wealthy and handsome senator and presidential candidate and her astonishing transformation into a deft political wife and unique first lady also explores what the author asserts was Jackie's 31-year struggle with PTSD after the assassination of her husband, John F. Kennedy.
New Fiction
Nora Webster : a novel / by Colm Toibin. Struggling with grief and financial hardships after the death of her beloved husband, widow Nora struggles to support her four children and clings to secrecy in the intrusive community of her childhood before finding her voice. By the award-winning author of “The Master” and “Brooklyn”.
The silent sister / by Diane Chamberlain. Settling her late father's affairs only to discover evidence that contradicts understandings about her sister's suicide 20 years earlier, Riley MacPherson learns that her sister is still alive and has been on the run from dangerous family secrets. By the best-selling author of “Necessary Lies”.
Desert god : a novel of ancient Egypt / by Wilbur Smith. Taita the fusspot slave, spiritual wise man and advisor to the Pharaoh is caught in a maelstrom of passion and danger in his efforts to destroy the Hyksos army by forming a dubious alliance with Crete. By the best-selling author of “River God”.
Falling from horses / by Molly Gloss. In 1938, 19-year-old cowboy Bud Frazer escapes a family tragedy and travels to Hollywood to become a stunt rider in the movies. By the author of “The Hearts of Horses”.
An Irish doctor in peace and at war / by Patrick Taylor. A World War II veteran tends to the needs of the people of Ballybuckebo, including bouts of German measles and involvement in a pie-baking contest. By the best-selling author of “Fingal O’Reilly, Irish Doctor”.
Pegasus : a novel / by Danielle Steel. A multigenerational narrative inspired by the best-selling author's own family history traces the efforts of an aristocratic German family to find refuge for themselves and their magnificent horses in post-World War II America.
Some luck / by Jane Smiley. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “A Thousand Acres” follows the triumphs and tragedies of a farm family from post-World War I America through the early 1950s.
Death of a blue blood / by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain. Invited to attend a New Year's Eve ball at Castorbrook Castle, Jessica Fletcher and her Scotland Yard detective friend, George Sutherland, discover the body of a lady's maid before their host is poisoned at midnight.
Ghost wanted / by Carolyn Hart. A mystery from the author of “Death at the Door” finds ghostly gumshoe Bailey Ruth Raeburn investigating a prankster at Adelaide's college library whose escalating mischief is disrupting the matchmaking practices of a gentle ghost.
Gossamer ghost / by Laura Childs. Discovering a murdered body at a neighboring antiques shop, scrapbooker Carmela Bertrand uncovers links to the theft of a priceless death mask in a case that involves several possible suspects.