Memorably set in WWII Ukraine and then Germany, this middle grade novel-in-verse is the story of two sisters who used their talent playing the piano to escape their parents’ fate on the death march to Drobitsky Yar. They hid as students in a prestigious German music school in Berlin through the whole war. One of the …
From Secret Garden Books in Seattle: Suzanne’s Author Spot: Anthony Doerr It was nearly ten years ago now, but my memory of reading for the first time ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE (Scribner, $18) is still clear. At the time, it was the pinnacle in a WWII reading binge I’d been on since LIFE …
Adolf Hitler has been chancellor of Germany for only four weeks, when on February 27, 1933, the Reichstag—home of the parliament in Berlin—suddenly bursts into flames. The Nazis promptly blame unruly communists, and in response suspend civil liberties throughout the country. Caught up in the ensuing escalation of lies, divisiveness, and bigotry is John Russell, …
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Nugget by P. T. Deutermann. Mr. Deutermann is one, if not THE, best writer of WWII military fiction on the market today. Both he and his father served in the U.S. Navy as senior officers. The father served in WWII, mainly in the …
A trusted source recommended Warburg in Rome to me. The author is James Carroll, who is Catholic. I mention that because I think it is important when reading this story. The setting is primarily the city of Rome just after the WWII Allies liberated that city in 1944. The story also moves to other parts …
You have heard the cliché “Never judge a book by its cover!” Thank goodness I did. I saw the cover at a recent writers conference. It had a couple of icons that I recognized– Big Ben in London, WWII aircraft and a woman dressed as a WWII spy. In the cover copy, I saw the …
About a year ago, I read The Dragontail Buttonhole, the first book in a trilogy by Peter Curtis, in which he details his family’s flight from Prague after the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. That story read like the best spy fiction of that period of infamy. Peter has followed that story with Cafe Budapest. After an unbelievable trek …
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an advanced reading copy of P.T. Deutermann’s newest WWII military thriller, The Iceman. This is the 4th of Mr. Deutermann’s standalone WWII novels I have read. The previous books include Pacific Glory, Ghosts of Bundo Suida, and The Commodore. They all are about different ship’s captains facing primarily Japanese opponents during the …
Imagine you are Jewish, living in Prague, and it is the summer of 1939. Author Peter Curtis does not have to imagine that. He lived it and he survived. Peter was two when his family left Prague. He is now a retired doctor and lives in Seattle, Washington. In his book, The Dragontail Buttonhole, Peter has …
I am 75 years old and a retired book professional with nearly forty years of book selling for publishers, as a retailer and for a book wholesaler. Most recently, I have been a volunteer at a regional writers’ association and written book reviews. My wife and I completed a two week visit to five cities in …
