Non-Fiction Book Reviews
Alex Kershaw, Award-Winning WWII Author
We first discovered author Alex Kershaw at a Friends of the World War II Memorial event in Washington, D.C. It didn’t take long for my husband and me to become huge fans of his World War II histories. Mr. Kershaw’s narratives flow like David McCullough’s, telling hard...
Confessions of a Multi-genre Reader
Are you a crazed reader? Do you read more than book one at a time in different genres? Do you have one genre you just can’t resist? It seems so normal to me to have more than one book lying around in progress–nightstand, desk, living room. You get the idea, right?
Book Reviews: I’m a Tough Reviewer
Standards of living, standards of writing, standards of service. I don’t want to let these things fall by the wayside. Let’s be tough when we review ourselves sometimes and keep the critiques going and the desire to rise up a level or two. Let’s not become slobs either in how we dress or approach our work and our lives.
Book Review: Helmet for My Pillow
Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific by Robert Leckie There are times I ask myself how I've never read a writer before this age and Robert Leckie is high on that list. Two amateur historians have been putting on a history lectures at our library the...
Book Reviews: Anne Morrow Lindbergh
You’ve heard of Charles Lindbergh–everyone has. But I find his wife far more intriguing. Anne Morrow Lindbergh was one of the most eloquent and moving writers of her time–and of the current time. Every book is worth reading for a multitude of reasons.
Book Review: Gratitude in Motion
Reading books of overcoming crushing physical circumstances can bring us to tears and laughter, cause anger and insight. This story will have you turning the pages as you strive to understand how Ms. Alexander lived through getting run over by a freight truck—both front and back tires. Yes, run over. Not hit, not blown off the road by the wind force of a big truck. The driver literally looked her in the eye, pulled in front of her, ran over her and tried to flee the scene. What a launch to a story.
Book Review: Fatal Error: The Final Flight of a Navy WWII Patrol Bomber
This is the true story of the cream of a World War II PBM-5 crew. It starts with a suitcase, abandoned on the sidewalk that catches the eye of a woman. She tucks the detritus of someone’s life away until connecting with Gary D. Cooper who unravels the loss of the men and weaves an intriguing tale.
Book Review: Red & Purple Hiking Boots
Time for another book review—you’ll soon be clued into the randomness of my reading. Everything but horror and romance is bound to show up here sooner or later. This week is an epic story by Donna Billings, a coach and writer who started hiking when she turned 62—with the intimidating Machu Picchu.
Book Review: 100 Best True Stories of World War II
This collection of stories is for any World War II history buff, for anyone who wants to increase their knowledge of what our WWII Vets went through, and for any reader who wants to be thrilled and emotionally connected to the people she reads about.
Book Review: The Sweet Life in Paris
Here’s a quote from near the end of the book:
“What helped was that I understand the food and tried my best to adapt to the culture, rather than trying to make the culture adapt to me. More important, though, I learned to take the time to get to know people, especially the vendors and merchants, who would patiently explain their wares to me.”
Book Review: A Man is Not a Plan
A Man is Not a Plan, Success Strategies for Independent Women Author: Mary Grace Musuneggi Disclaimer: I am a friend of the author. I purchased A Man is Not a Plan and am providing an honest review. Having known about this book since it’s inception, I was incredibly...
Book Review: The Last Fighter Pilot
The Last Fighter Pilot is the thrilling story covering a part of Captain Jerry Yellin’s time in the war from March – August 1945–V-J Day. Having already felt the depth of Captain Yellin’s experiences by reading Of War & Weddings, I expected that emotional connection to play a large role in his collaboration with author Don Brown.
Book Review: Of War & Weddings
Jerry Yellin was a captain and fighter pilot going on many missions throughout the Pacific and over Japan. He is the last fighter pilot to fly a combat mission as the war was coming to a close. This is the remarkable story of how a World War II Veteran of the Pacific makes peace with the nation and people of Japan decades after the war.
Book Review: Choose Joy: Finding Hope and Purpose When Life Hurts
If I had the funds, I would buy fifty copies of this book and gift it to treasured friends in the hopes that it would help them choose a life full of joy. How do you mindfully choose joy?
Book Review: Up From Slavery
“Up From Slavery” is a small book, but because of the depth of the words, it’s taken me several months to complete it. Born into slavery in Virginia in 1856, post-emancipation Booker T. Washington was working in the West Virginia coal mines when he heard about the...
Book Review: The Two Yosemites: A Travelogue Book
As someone who has puzzled over the drive-through park-goers, I identify with what Jeri Walker talks about in her book The Two Yosemites–the wanting to get into a National Park and experience the way the first explorers did versus those who experience nature as a series of drive-bys.
