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Editorial Content for Sicily '43: The First Assault on Fortress Europe

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

In 2019, I spent two educational and enjoyable weeks in Sicily. Having made several previous trips to Italy, I viewed this journey as the completion of my Italian travels. But my time on the island taught me that while Sicily may be part of Italy, it is a distinct and separate piece of the country. Driving that point home more than anything was our visit to the World War II Museum in Catania, commemorating the 38-day Battle for Sicily led by British and American troops. Read More

Teaser

On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily. James Holland’s SICILY ’43 offers a vital new perspective on a major turning point in World War II and a chronicle of a multi-pronged campaign in a uniquely diverse and contained geographical location.

Promo

On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily. James Holland’s SICILY ’43 offers a vital new perspective on a major turning point in World War II and a chronicle of a multi-pronged campaign in a uniquely diverse and contained geographical location.

About the Book

A major new history of one of World War II's most crucial campaigns --- the first Allied attack on European soil --- by the acclaimed author of NORMANDY '44 and a rising star in military history.

On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, and its drama, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily.

Based on his own battlefield studies in Sicily and on much new research, James Holland’s SICILY ’43 offers a vital new perspective on a major turning point in World War II and a chronicle of a multi-pronged campaign in a uniquely diverse and contained geographical location. The characters involved --- Generals George Patton and Bernard Montgomery, among many --- were as colorful as the air and naval battles and the fighting on the ground across the scorching plains and mountaintop of Sicily were brutal. But among Holland’s great skills is incorporating the experience of on-the-ground participants on all sides --- from American privates Tom and Dee Bowles and Tuskegee fighter pilot Charlie Dryden to British major Hedley Verity and Canadian lieutenant Farley Mowat (later a celebrated author), to German and Italian participants such as Wilhelm Schmalz, brigade commander in the Hermann Göring Division, or Luftwaffe fighter pilot major Johannes “Macky” Steinhoff and to Italian combatants, civilians and mafiosi alike --- which gives readers an intimate sense of what occurred in July and August 1943.

Emphasizing the significance of Allied air superiority, Holland overturns conventional narratives that have criticized the Sicily campaign for the vacillations over the plan, the slowness of the Allied advance, and that so many German and Italian soldiers escaped to the mainland; rather, he shows that clearing the island in 38 days against geographical challenges and fierce resistance was an impressive achievement. A powerful and dramatic account by a master military historian, SICILY ’43 fills a major gap in the narrative history of World War II.

Audiobook available, read by Al Murray

Editorial Content for Nights When Nothing Happened

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Lorraine W. Shanley

Simon Han’s beautifully crafted debut novel about a family of Chinese immigrants living in a Dallas suburb in 2003 is a deceptively quiet book, where a series of small events quickly accumulate to threaten their life together. The title, NIGHTS WHEN NOTHING HAPPENED, reveals new meanings as the story unfolds. Read More

Teaser

From the outside, the Chengs seem like so-called model immigrants. Once Patty landed a tech job near Dallas, she and Liang grew secure enough to have a second child, and to send for their first from his grandparents back in China. Isn’t this what they sacrificed so much for? But then little Annabel begins to sleepwalk at night, putting into motion a string of misunderstandings that not only threaten to set their community against them but force to the surface the secrets that have made them fear one another. How can a man make peace with the terrors of his past? How can a child regain trust in unconditional love? How can a family stop burying its history and forge a way through it, to a more honest intimacy?

Promo

From the outside, the Chengs seem like so-called model immigrants. Once Patty landed a tech job near Dallas, she and Liang grew secure enough to have a second child, and to send for their first from his grandparents back in China. Isn’t this what they sacrificed so much for? But then little Annabel begins to sleepwalk at night, putting into motion a string of misunderstandings that not only threaten to set their community against them but force to the surface the secrets that have made them fear one another. How can a man make peace with the terrors of his past? How can a child regain trust in unconditional love? How can a family stop burying its history and forge a way through it, to a more honest intimacy?

About the Book

From the outside, the Chengs seem like so-called model immigrants. Once Patty landed a tech job near Dallas, she and Liang grew secure enough to have a second child, and to send for their first from his grandparents back in China. Isn’t this what they sacrificed so much for?

But then little Annabel begins to sleepwalk at night, putting into motion a string of misunderstandings that not only threaten to set their community against them but force to the surface the secrets that have made them fear one another. How can a man make peace with the terrors of his past? How can a child regain trust in unconditional love? How can a family stop burying its history and forge a way through it, to a more honest intimacy?

NIGHTS WHEN NOTHING HAPPENED is gripping storytelling immersed in the crosscurrents that have reshaped the American landscape, from a prodigious new literary talent.

Audiobook available, read by James Chen

Editorial Content for The Thirty Names of Night

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Maya Gittelman

“How different the world would look if it had any mercy towards migrations undertaken as a last resort against annihilation.”

Zeyn Joukhadar’s novel, THE THIRTY NAMES OF NIGHT, is an intimate, intergenerational saga centered on a trans artist in search of himself, his community and answers to the questions his mother left behind. Read More

Teaser

Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria. One night, he enters the abandoned community house and finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America. She famously and mysteriously disappeared more than 60 years before, but her journal contains proof that both his mother and Laila Z encountered the same rare bird before their deaths. In fact, Laila Z’s past is intimately tied to his mother’s --- and his grandmother’s --- in ways he never could have expected.

Promo

Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria. One night, he enters the abandoned community house and finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America. She famously and mysteriously disappeared more than 60 years before, but her journal contains proof that both his mother and Laila Z encountered the same rare bird before their deaths. In fact, Laila Z’s past is intimately tied to his mother’s --- and his grandmother’s --- in ways he never could have expected.

About the Book

The author of the “vivid and urgent…important and timely” (The New York Times Book Review) debut THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS returns with this remarkably moving and lyrical novel following three generations of Syrian Americans who are linked by a mysterious species of bird and the truths they carry close to their hearts.

Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighborhood masjid, his estranged sister and even his best friend (who also happens to be his longtime crush). The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria.

One night, he enters the abandoned community house and finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America. She famously and mysteriously disappeared more than 60 years before, but her journal contains proof that both his mother and Laila Z encountered the same rare bird before their deaths. In fact, Laila Z’s past is intimately tied to his mother’s --- and his grandmother’s --- in ways he never could have expected. Even more surprising, Laila Z’s story reveals the histories of queer and transgender people within his own community that he never knew. Realizing that he isn’t and has never been alone, he has the courage to officially claim a new name: Nadir, an Arabic name meaning rare.

As unprecedented numbers of birds are mysteriously drawn to the New York City skies, Nadir enlists the help of his family and friends to unravel what happened to Laila Z and the rare bird his mother died trying to save. Following his mother’s ghost, he uncovers the silences kept in the name of survival by his own community, his own family and within himself, and discovers the family that was there all along.

Featuring Zeyn Joukhadar’s signature “folkloric, lyrical, and emotionally intense...gorgeous and alive” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) storytelling, THE THIRTY NAMES OF NIGHT is a “stunning…vivid, visceral, and urgent” (Booklist, starred review) exploration of loss, memory, migration and identity.

Audiobook available, read by Samy Figaredo and Lameece Issaq

Editorial Content for The Man in Milan

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Kate Ayers

NYPD detectives Paul Rossi and Hamilton P. Turner catch a call to investigate a dead body. That’s not really rare on the streets of New York. But Rossi takes a closer look and immediately thinks something is fishy with this one. At first blush, it might appear to be a hit, but not the mob. The victim, Gaitano Muro, is Italian. A diplomat, by the identification on him. But, for some reason, the consul wants to deny that. So, if not the mob, then who? Is he working with the consulate or not? Read More

Teaser

When NYPD detectives Paul Rossi and Hamilton P. Turner begin investigating the Sutton Place murder of an Italian air force pilot, they find themselves sucked into the potential cover-up of the Ustica massacre, the most horrific aviation crime in Italian history. But as they begin investigating, Rossi and Turner come up against NYPD bureaucratic obstacles and stonewalling by the Italian Consulate in New York City. Lieutenant Laura Muro, the policewoman sister of the victim, comes to New York to aid the investigation, but soon the trio find themselves in the crosshairs of the Gladio, Italy’s powerful, shadowy political cabal whose reach extends to the highest reaches of New York political and ruling class.

Promo

When NYPD detectives Paul Rossi and Hamilton P. Turner begin investigating the Sutton Place murder of an Italian air force pilot, they find themselves sucked into the potential cover-up of the Ustica massacre, the most horrific aviation crime in Italian history. But as they begin investigating, Rossi and Turner come up against NYPD bureaucratic obstacles and stonewalling by the Italian Consulate in New York City. Lieutenant Laura Muro, the policewoman sister of the victim, comes to New York to aid the investigation, but soon the trio find themselves in the crosshairs of the Gladio, Italy’s powerful, shadowy political cabal whose reach extends to the highest reaches of New York political and ruling class.

About the Book

For fans of Daniel Silva and David Baldacci comes a gripping thriller based on real world events that will have you riveted until the final page is turned.

When NYPD detectives Paul Rossi and Hamilton P. Turner begin investigating the Sutton Place murder of an Italian air force pilot, the last thing they expect is that they will find themselves sucked into the potential cover-up of the Ustica massacre, the most horrific aviation crime in Italian history, in which all 81 souls on board perished, where Italian President Francesco Cossiga blamed a missile deployed by the French Navy for the disaster. But as they begin investigating, Rossi, recovering from a broken marriage, and Turner, an African-American opera buff, poet and former lawyer with ambitions to be mayor, come up against NYPD bureaucratic obstacles and stonewalling by the Italian Consulate in New York City.

Lieutenant Laura Muro, the policewoman sister of the victim, comes to New York to aid the investigation, but soon the trio find themselves in the crosshairs of the Gladio, Italy’s powerful, shadowy political cabal whose reach extends to the highest reaches of New York political and ruling class. From New York to Italy, Rossi, Turner and Muro must uncover the shocking truth about one of the most notorious disasters in airline history, and how this infamous act ties to the present-day murder.

Riveting, erudite and surprising at every turn, THE MAN IN MILAN announces a major new voice in international thriller fiction.

Editorial Content for Shills Can't Cash Chips

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

At the time of his death in 1970, Erle Stanley Gardner was the best-selling American author of all time. This was due in large part to his Perry Mason novels, which fueled a long-running television series as well as a number of made-for-TV movies, which in turn renewed interest in the books, and so on. In fact, HBO recently wrapped up the first season of “Perry Mason,” which is (loosely) based on the novels. Gardner was a workhorse whose quantity often matched the quality of his output. Read More

Teaser

From the world-famous creator of Perry Mason, Erle Stanley Gardner --- at his death the best-selling American writer of all time --- comes another baffling case for the Cool & Lam detective agency. Return to the 1960s as a simple insurance investigation into a car accident puts Bertha Cool and Donald Lam on the trail of murder --- and Donald hip-deep in danger when he poses as an ex-con to infiltrate a criminal gang. It's Gardner's twistiest caper ever, and a fitting conclusion to Hard Case Crime's revival of this classic (and long unavailable) detective series.

Promo

From the world-famous creator of Perry Mason, Erle Stanley Gardner --- at his death the best-selling American writer of all time --- comes another baffling case for the Cool & Lam detective agency. Return to the 1960s as a simple insurance investigation into a car accident puts Bertha Cool and Donald Lam on the trail of murder --- and Donald hip-deep in danger when he poses as an ex-con to infiltrate a criminal gang. It's Gardner's twistiest caper ever, and a fitting conclusion to Hard Case Crime's revival of this classic (and long unavailable) detective series.

About the Book

From Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner --- during his life, the best-selling American author of all time --- comes a lost classic of detective fiction featuring private eyes Donald Lam (once played by Frank Sinatra!) and Bertha Cool.

HAS DONALD LAM GONE OVER TO THE DARK SIDE?

From the world-famous creator of Perry Mason, Erle Stanley Gardner --- at his death the best-selling American writer of all time --- comes another baffling case for the Cool & Lam detective agency. Return to the 1960s as a simple insurance investigation into a car accident puts Bertha Cool and Donald Lam on the trail of murder --- and Donald hip-deep in danger when he poses as an ex-con to infiltrate a criminal gang. It's Gardner's twistiest caper ever, and a fitting conclusion to Hard Case Crime's revival of this classic (and long unavailable) detective series.

Joan Collins

Age is just a number. It's totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine.

Attribution

Joan Collins

November 24, 2020

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of November 23rd and November 30th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com, where three book groups will win 12 copies of Rachel Joyce's new novel, MISS BENSON'S BEETLE. The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, January 6th at noon ET.

Last Thursday night, we hosted our first "Bookaccino Live" Book Group event. Our guest was Jeanine Cummins, whose novel AMERICAN DIRT was a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick when it released in January and is a finalist for this year's Goodreads Choice Awards in the Fiction category. Carol had a fabulous time talking about the book with Jeanine, who also answered questions from eight readers who joined them "on stage" and other members of the audience. Click here to watch the event and here to listen to the podcast.

Our Next "Bookaccino Live" Book Group Event:
Thursday, January 21st at 8pm ET

Our next “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event will take place on Thursday, January 21st at 8pm ET. Our guest will be William Kent Krueger, who will talk about THIS TENDER LAND, which was a Bets On pick when it released last September. Click here to register. If you would like to be one of our “live panelists” and ask Kent a question, please fill out this form.

Our Next "Bookaccino Live" Afternoon Event:
Wednesday, January 13th at 2pm ET

On Wednesday, January 13th at 2pm ET, we will be hosting our next "Bookaccino Live" afternoon event. Carol will present titles releasing between January 12th and February 2nd, along with a few from March, that she thinks will be of interest to our readers. Click here to register. Those attending the live event will be asked to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading and will be eligible to win prizes.

If you missed the November 11th event, where Carol talked about books coming out from mid-November to early January, along with four February releases, you can see a list of the featured titles here. A link to the video of the presentation will be available in the November 25th Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter.

Liz Armbruster

To err on the side of kindness is seldom an error.

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Liz Armbruster

November 23, 2020

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we know people will be talking about this holiday season. Read more about it, and enter our Holiday Cheer Contest by Tuesday, November 24th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of MUSICAL CHAIRS by Amy Poeppel. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

James Patterson

I believe we should spend less time worrying about the quantity of books children read and more time introducing them to quality books that will turn them on to the joy of reading and turn them into lifelong readers.

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James Patterson