A Single Spy by William Christie. This book was inspired by my reading of Legacy of Spies. Set during World War II rather than the Cold War and Russians vs Germans rather than Russians/Germans vs English, it is a very different book from Legacy of Spies but very in enjoyable. Aleksi Ivanovich Smirnov, an orphan…
What better way to celebrate than with a new YA novel, but if you’re not sure which to pick up next, we have a few suggestions: Reserve John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down and we’ll let you know when a copy is available for you. “It’s quite rare to find someone who sees the…
“For years, America’s national parks have provided public breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are steadily disappearing, which is why close to 300 million people visit the parks each year. Now, to honor the centennial of the National Park Service, Terry Tempest Williams, the author of the beloved memoir When Women Were…
Three years ago an event destroyed the small city of Poughkeepsie, forever changing reality within its borders. Uncanny manifestations and lethal dangers now await anyone who enters the Spill Zone. The Spill claimed Addison’s parents and scarred her little sister, Lexa, who Addison provides for by photographing the Zone’s twisted attractions on illicit midnight rides. When an…
I had kind of gone off John le Carre in the past few years. There was just something about his style of writing that, for me at least, didn’t translate well from Cold War to War on Terror. Maybe it was just the fact that its easier for me to read spy fiction about a…
Released in 2015, the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Frank Sinatra, this sensitively written yet honest and raw portrayal of the life of the great entertainer is a real page turner for Sinatra fans. Tina Sinatra (Frank’s youngest daughter) brings the reader back in time to her father’s past as he attempted to gain…
This book opens with an attempted terrorist attack in the early 2000s. A mail bomb intended to blow up over Chicago. The attack was foiled but the package containing the bomb was addressed to a man dead for hundreds of years: Reynald de Chatillon a knight who lived most of his life fighting Muslims (and…
In 1946 something amazing happened in the world of comics and pop-culture. The Golden Age of Comics was coming to a close. In less than a decade Fredric Wetham’s Seduction of the Innocent would demonize the industry. Comic books would be smeared as leading to delinquency and fascism. Wertham must have been unaware of the…
Amy, one of our junior pages, really enjoyed these books (especially the first one on the list!), and thought that a young reader in your home might, too. Trumpet of the Swan – E. B. White “Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis…
COMICS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, AND POPULAR CULTURE Most of us have heard of comics and graphic novels, but what are they really? Comics and graphic novels are a form of Sequential Art. They are a series of illustrations read in a specific order. Manga is a form of sequential art that is read left to…
Since the Golden Age of Comics heroes have been plagued by an army of unusual and bizarre foes. Jon Morris has collected the best of the worst in The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains. These rogues are organized by era, running from the Golden Age to Modern Age of Comics. If you are thinking about…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 1282 Peter III of Aragon Intervenes in the War of the Sicilian Vespers In 1266 a French Army under…
One of the lesser known benefits of working in a library is getting to empty the book drop. This means you get to see some of the books that are trending within your community. That is how home came across A Death in Brittany by Jean-Luc Bannalec. I checked it in and noticed the beautiful…
“To the River is the story of the Ouse, the Sussex river in which Virginia Woolf drowned in 1941. One midsummer week over sixty years later, Olivia Laing walked Woolf’s river from source to sea. The result is a passionate investigation into how history resides in a landscape – and how ghosts never quite leave…
The Armchair Scientist: A quarterly roundup of the latest updates to our science collection with a spotlight on: The Science of Self-Care. Are You Getting Enough Sleep? The mystery of sleep: why a good night’s rest is vital to a better, healthier life Written by Meir Kryger, M.D., The Mystery of Sleep offers an up close and personal look…
In many respects the world that my generation grew up in has changed for the better. Gone are the days of enforced segregation, slavery, and Jim Crow laws. And while the society we have created is not nearly close to perfect, it is a far cry from the social injustices that people of color have…
Everyone loves new books! Here are some new titles in history that will be showing up in the library’s New Books Room over the next couple of months. Bettencourt Affair: The World’s Richest Woman and the Scandal that Rocked Paris by Tom Sancton Liliane Bettencourt is the world s richest woman and the eleventh wealthiest…
It’s August and the Sun is Shining. C’mon Get Happy! From Ivy League towers to your local public library, books on the elusive science of happiness have been hitting the shelves. It looks like most people could use a little boost in the happiness department… but why is it that we all feel that way?…
The month of August marks the 127th birthday of New England author H.P. Lovecraft. As an amateur antiquarian, Lovecraft used his passion for local history to merge the travel writing and horror genres. Many of his tales are set in New England, with several taking place on the North Shore. To give his fictional locales…
I can actually remember the first time I heard about the Battle of Crete, albeit obliquely. I was a kid watching the old 60s Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn movie Guns of Navarone. Peck’s character Mallory’s major credential as a special operations soldier is the fact that he is a mountaineer and survived…
One of my main interests is how pop-culture impacts and reflects the society in which it is produced. While some might devalue comic books and cartoons as juvenile literature, they can be complex, and give a greater insight into the public mindset. Marc DiPaolo’s book War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 1553 Jane Grey Deposed as Queen of England Jane Grey was a great-granddaughter of Henry VII and a cousin…
Anthony Horowitz’s ode to Golden Age detective novels handily lends itself to a long list of readalike titles. Whether you’re in the mood for another mystery, one with a similar tone to tide you over until Magpie‘s queue turns in your favor, or for a little background information on the authors who excelled in visiting…
Need primary or secondary material for a presentation or paper? The Research section in the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers website is here to help. Danvers residents and patrons using our public computers or Wi-Fi have access to databases covering a wide range of topics: e-books, peer reviewed journals, news archives, and more. These online…
I have a small confession to make: I have never been able to get into China Mieville’s fiction. This is very embarrassing to me since his books look like they would be right up my alley. However, for some reason I have never been able to finish one. Then I saw October, a non-fiction account…
Every Heart a Doorway – Seanan McGuire “Children have always disappeared from Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere … else. But magical lands have little need…
Seen the movie? Now read about it! Graphic Novels, Non-fiction and more… Also check out the Read This Display next time you are in the library. The Graphic Novels Bennett, Marguerite Bombshells. Allies Volume 2, Summary:“Based on the hit DC Collectibles product line! As World War II rages across Europe, the Allied forces issue a…
Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon – Jeffrey Kluger “In August 1968, NASA made a bold decision: in just sixteen weeks, the United States would launch humankind’s first flight to the moon. Only the year before, three astronauts had burned to death in their spacecraft, and since then the…
One of the early pioneers of the early comic and sequential art form, Jack Kirby fully deserves the title of “King of Comics”. Born Jacob Kurtzberg in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Kirby would move from selling day old bread to creating some of the most iconic comic book characters. His unique style breathed life into…
A quarterly roundup of the latest updates to our science collection with a spotlight on: Nature The Earth The Ground Beneath Us: From the Oldest Cities to the Last Wilderness, What Dirt Tells Us About Who We Are (March 2017) How many of us have given much thought to the ground beneath our feet?…
The Star Wars Lego saga started in 2005 with the premiere of Revenge of the Brick short on Cartoon Network. Since then there have been numerous other cartoons, and an ongoing series on Disney XD. These DVDs are a great way to introduce younger viewers to the Star Wars franchise. At the same time they…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 1431 Joan d’Arc Is Burned At The Stake Born a peasant in rural France during the later part of…
With the hundredth anniversary of World War I there has been a lot of discussion of “who’s fault was it?” Classically German gets the most of the blame but Russian and France and even England have gotten their share as well. Now Wawro has turned the eye of blame on the Austro-Hungarian empire in A…
In 1961 the talents of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee brought forth an unusual group of superheroes. A quartet of adventurers mutated by cosmic radiation. This fantastic foursome would in turn help transform a struggling Marvel Comics into a multimedia powerhouse. The Fantastic Four shared aspects with another comic Kirby had worked on a few…
Some books to for you to read before, during or after watching American Gods More From Neil Gaiman Gaiman, Neil Anansi boys : a novel Summary:Charles Fat Charlie Nancy leads a normal, boring existence in London. However, when he calls the U.S. to invite his estranged father to his wedding, he learns that the man…
Jane is a household name in the literary world, owing in no small part to Eyre and Austen. Indulge your love for both ladies with these forthcoming titles. The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn (Available in July) “Perfect for fans of Jane Austen, this engrossing debut novel offers an unusual twist on the legacy of…
“Jennifer Klinec is fearless. In her thirties, she abandons her bland corporate job to launch a cooking school from her London apartment and travel the world in search of delicious recipes and obscure culinary traditions. Her journey takes her to Iran, where she seeks out a local woman to learn the secrets of Persian cuisine.…
Start Here: Lauren Elkin. Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London. 2017. “The flâneur is the quintessentially masculine figure of privilege and leisure who strides the capitals of the world with abandon. But it is the flâneuse who captures the imagination of the cultural critic Lauren Elkin. In her…
As we move (all too) slowly into spring and summer my thoughts, like many, turn to long walks in interesting places. With that in mind I thought our section of hiking books could use an upgrade. Check out the GV section of the New Books Room for the result. In the mean time check out…
“In a career spanning more than thirty years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television. While he remains one of the most famous stars in America, he is a remote, even reclusive, figure whose career is widely misunderstood. In Letterman, Jason Zinoman, the first comedy critic…
Written by: Greg Rucka Illustrated by: Liam Sharp & Laura Martin With the upcoming release of the superhero genre’s first female-led film, it is no surprise that many people are turning their attention to the Wonder Woman comic books. Wonder Woman’s rise to fame has been on a steady upswing since she first arrived on…
National Poetry Month is drawing to a close, but there are many more days left in the year to appreciate and celebrate poetry. Here are two collections that I’ve recently read and thought were knockouts: Ocean Vuong’s Night Sky With Exit Wounds “In his haunting and fearless debut, Ocean Vuong walks a tightrope of historic…
The latest updates to our science collection with a spotlight on: Physics Everyday Physics Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (October 2014) Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, one of the founders of quantum loop gravity theory, breaks down some of the most basic laws and theorems acknowledged by contemporary physics. Not bad for a tiny volume that,…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 1653 Oliver Cromwell Dissolves the Rump Parliament At the end of the English Civil War in 1648 the Long…
As an avid reader of DC Universe comic books and the wide array of heroes that they cover, I had high hopes for All Star Batman Volume 1: My Own Worst Enemy by Scott Snyder. Batman, being one of DC’s most popular heroes, has multiple storylines in the current ‘Rebirth’ comic run, but the All…
The Star Wars franchise started in 1977 with the release of Episode IV: A New Hope. Since then there have eight additional movies, with more in the works. There are several excellent animated shows that follow the core films. These cartoons are a great way to introduce younger children to the Star Wars universe, and…
So what is the meaning of a world map? That is the deceptively complicated question that Brotton presents in his A History of the World in Twelve Maps. They are not really useful for navigation. If a person needs to find the best way to get to New York City they don’t reach for their…
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (a local author; she also wrote The Good Thief) “Samuel Hawley isn’t like the other fathers in Olympus, Massachusetts. A loner who spent years living on the run, he raised his beloved daughter, Loo, on the road, moving from motel to motel, always watching his back.…
Adventure fantasies are sort of my jam. Several years ago I noticed the Fablehaven series flying off the library shelves and into the hands of middle graders, so I had to check it out. I. Loved. It. So, of course I am excited to see Brandon Mull return to this amazing series! To set the…
About Victoria: The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire: “When Victoria was born, in 1819, the world was a very different place. Revolution would threaten many of Europe’s monarchies in the coming decades. In Britain, a generation of royals had indulged their whims at the public’s expense, and republican sentiment…
For this Saint Patrick’s Day we thought we’d offer up some histories of Ireland that show Ireland’s interacation with the outside world throughout history. Also these titles might be a little less well known. Enjoy! Ireland in the Virginian sea : colonialism in the British Atlantic by Audrey Horning. In the late sixteenth century,…
Feeling a need to read about a place warmer than here? I give you the Sahara. The world’s largest hot desert with an average high temperature of 104 degrees and rain fall that is virtually non-existent in some places. So what is Nicholas Jubber doing in the Sahara? Learning stuff from nomads. Specifically the Tuareg…
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai All Our Wrong Todays is one of the few books where the actual story lived up to the book’s hype and summary. (Mastai’s ability to form letters into words into sentences doesn’t hurt, either.) We follow our bumbling protagonist Tom Barren – through his mother’s death, a string…
The Time In Between was adapted into a Spanish-language series for Netflix (see trailer below). Jen’s notes: The series is a close adaptation of the novel, and filled with beautiful scenery and fashion. “The inspiring international bestseller of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself first into a prestigious…
If you’ve read Emily Fridlund’s History of Wolves: “Fourteen-year-old Linda lives with her parents in the beautiful, austere woods of northern Minnesota, where their nearly abandoned commune stands as a last vestige of a lost counter-culture world. Isolated at home and an outlander at school, Linda is drawn to the enigmatic, attractive Lily and new…
Michael Eric Dyson’s Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America came out last month and, let me just tell you, it is making me seriously think about my privilege as an upper-middle-class white lady, living in a liberal part of a liberal state. In an interview for The New York Times Magazine, Dyson states that the book’s ideal audience…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 1327 Edward III Crowned King of England Due to colossal misrule, Edward II was deposed by his wife Isabella…
“25 of the Most Exciting Book Releases for 2017” | via Vulture “As the episode progresses, each character gets a chance to wink broadly at the camera. Then the Doyle stories are stuck back into the blender, and the plot hurries on.” | “Not My Sherlock: A Sherlock Holmes Expert On “The Six Thatchers” and…
You might be surprised to know that throughout much of the 19th century Europe and the United States were overrun by a series of pandemics that killed thousands. The disease was Cholera, which is cause by a bacteria that essentially causes its sufferer to discharge all the fluid in their body over the course of…
The full title of Sobel’s latest is The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars. What the book contains is what it says on the tin, mostly. I would add emphasis to one word in the subtitle: How. I would de-emphasize another: Ladies. Based on the title and publisher…
Sometimes there’s a collection of books at the library that we feel just needs to be noticed. Our books on cartography and maps.fall into that catagory. Its a large collection of books that are scattered around the library. We’ve got everything from Atlases of Civil War Battles to fantasy fiction centered around map making. Here…
I know what you are all thinking, “Why hasn’t anyone written a history of the Compromise of 1850?” Well, your heart’s desire has been granted. Fergus Bordewich’s America’s Great Debate is just such a book. For those of you who are not US history teachers or 19th century political history junkies, the Compromise of 1850…
Sherman Alexie is a celebrated author, considered to be at the forefront of the Native American literary renaissance. A movement starting in the 1960’s, in which Indigenous Americans sought to reclaim, and record their oral traditions and history. Utilizing western literary formats these writers challenged the established historical narrative, and explored their new cultural identity.…
“Soon, a wide readership formed and her posthumous fame grew, nourished by the stories people passed around. After a gregarious girlhood, it was said, Dickinson had gradually become a near-total recluse, known around Amherst as “the myth.” Children boasted of catching a glimpse of her at an upstairs window. Some thought she was a mystic.…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 69 Vespasian Declared Emperor After the suicide of Nero in 68 Rome was plunged into what was called The…
Edgar Allan Poe invites some of history’s most famous authors to play a murder mystery game, but things don’t go quite as planned. A new eleven part murder mystery comedy series Produced by Shipwrecked Comedy In Association with American Black Market Written & Created by Sean Persaud & Sinead Persaud One of our teen patrons…
I know what you’re thinking, those of you with less than pleasant memories of Kafka (thanks to High School English class, right?), but here’s the thing: For all that this book is billed as a biography, Kafka is mostly just along for the ride. Which is to say: Have you ever focused your wanderlust on…
Have a special book lover in your life and don’t know what to get them? Well the staff at the Peabody Institute Library Danvers have you covered. Below are some of our favorite books that we think will make great gifts. Anderson, Scott Lawrence In Arabia: War Deceit Imperial Folly And The Making Of The…
Reading List Curated by Rachel Although I picked up Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers who Changed the World for its charming illustrations, the content is fascinating and makes me want to seek out everything I can on even more rad women. Feel the same way? Here are a few to get started! Ada’s Algorithm:…
Getting tired of the interminable wait for Rogue One to be released? Yeah me too. Here are some tie in books (some more so than others) to help get you through. Ahsoka I’m not normally a fan of books that are all Jedi all the time. I’ve always found the stories of non-force users in…
“Poetry is a solitary process. One does not write poetry for the masses. Poetry is a self-involved, lofty pursuit. Songs are for the people. When I’m writing a song, I imagine performing it. I imagine giving it. It’s a different aspect of communication. It’s for the people. We always write a certain amount of poetry…
John Carpenter is an American filmmaker well known for his cult films. In the United States he is often derided as a horror director, or in his own words “A bum”, but overseas his cinematography is celebrated. While a significant amount of his work is rooted in the horror genre, they are often quite complex.…
I was really not a fan of Lumberjanes, Vol. 3: A Terrible Plan, but volume four, Out of Time, gave me the same warm and fuzzy feelings as the series opener, Beware the Kitten Holy. Was it because Brooke Allen was back illustrating my favorite five-some after one issue off? Or because the story felt…
Giant Days focuses on three friends as they navigate their first months at Sheffield University. Ostensibly, not much happens – but therein lies the beauty of John Allison’s creation. To focus such an exacting eye on the minutia of female teenagers experiencing adulthood feels refreshingly honest. It reminded me of what it felt to be…
So… I really wanted to like this. After loving Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of T-Challa in Captain America: Civil War and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s memoir Between the World and Me, my senses prickled at the thought of two amazing things coming together. Except A Nation Under Our Feet, Book One is better suited to readers who are…
The Noir Headhunters Nesbo, Jo Roger Brown is a corporate headhunter, and he’s a master of his profession. But one career simply can’t support his luxurious lifestyle and his wife’s fledgling art gallery. At an art opening one night he meets Clas Greve, who is not only the perfect candidate for a major CEO job, but…
Our patron called this “the best, funniest book.” About the book: “Dell Haley’s mama always told her there were two things a man couldn’t get enough of: good cookin’ and good lovin’. Dell has the cooking down pat — the proof is in her fried apple pies. But she suspects her husband is getting more…
From the minds behind Hellboy comes a dark retelling of the DC Universe. The Doom That Came to Gotham blends the worlds of Batman, and H.P. Lovecraft. This alternate look at the Caped Crusader touches on the noir, steampunk, and cosmic horror genres. Aficionados of Mike Mignola will recognize the iconic art and writing style…
“At the scary, broken heart of each of these three novels stands a woman of tremendous courage. It’s a quality she—each of these three very different “shes”—will need in order to face the horrors bent on destroying her. Also marking each heroine is a possibly fatal flaw that draws the monstrous entities in her direction with…
The Special Air Service (SAS) is the grandfather of all special forces units. Every time you read about the exploits of the SEALS or Green Berets you are looking at organizations built on the lessons of the SAS. Rogue Heroes is described as an authorized history, but not an official one of the creation of…
I randomly picked up the audiobook The Hopefuls as I was finishing my shift on the circulation desk. I started listening to audiobooks a few years ago when my commute time nearly doubled, when I was at my previous job, and now I find it hard to be in the car without listening to a…
One of the big take-aways from reading Tim Weiner’s Legacy of Ashes is how incredibly inept the CIA is. Weiner excoriates the CIA from top to bottom. Very few people escape his critical eye. One that does though was Antonio Mendez. You might know Mendez without actually knowing him. If you saw the movie Argo, Ben…
Richard Rhodes’ Hell and Good Company is the title for the October History Book Group (meeting Oct 19 at 7) and being more organized that I usually am I set down to read it well in advance. I have always found the Spanish Civil War fascinating. For one its a dress rehearsal for World War…
“The meaning of words, and the way we used them, change all the time — and that’s OK with linguist John McWhorter of Columbia University. He writes about how the English language has evolved in his new book, Words on the Move: Why English Won’t — And Can’t — Sit Still (Like Literally).” | “Our…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 1692 The Last Convicted Witches Hanged In Salem The Salem Witchcraft trials resulted in the execution of 20 persons,…
There are sooo many shows I watch (and with which I am OBSESSED) that would work really well as a stand-alone or multi-book series. Here are the ones at the top of my list! 12 Monkeys: This series has quickly become one of my favorite shows, and it makes me think of a trilogy filled with time…
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin Set in the untamed American West, a highly original and haunting debut novel about a makeshift family whose dramatic lives are shaped by violence, love, and an indelible connection to the land. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen Marine biologist Chaz Perrone can’t tell a sea horse from a sawhorse. And…
Swarup’s Six Suspects opens with a murder. Vicky Rai, a disreputable playboy, is having a party to celebrate getting off on a charge of murdering a bartender. In the middle of the party Rai is shot to death and as the title of the book suggests there are six suspects. Mohan Kumar, retired corrupt Chief…
Book Riot does this great feature called “Buy, Borrow, Bypass” and I like it, so I’m going to do that here. A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold Sue Klebold is best known as the mother of Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold – and she knows it. Although her memoir twists…
“Most of us who embark on a long hike do so seeking change, buoyed by the almost-magical hope that we can walk ourselves into a new body or a new state of mind. But when it actually takes place, the experience of transformation can be unnerving.” | Robert Moor, author of On Trails: An Exploration,…
I love reading all things espionage (as you may have noticed if you have read my other reviews). Fiction or non-fiction, it does not matter. My fascination with it rests in the fact that it is kind of the dark side of what I do for a living: searching for information. Therefore, it is not…
In our Today In History Reading List feature, we take the events of a particular day in history and try to give you a work of fiction and a work of non-fiction relating to those events. 79 BC – Mount Vesuvius Erupts One of the larges volcanic…
“On a foggy summer night, eleven people–ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter–depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs–the painter–and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and…
Add Robert Macfarlane’s Landmarks to the pantheon of books that are best read slowly so that every word, every image, every bit of new knowledge might be savored to the fullest. In the grand scheme of categories and genres and other restrictive labels, Landmarks would most readily find its footing in nature writing, but it…
I grew up in the post-Vietnam War generation. I always had a feeling, as a child, that I wasn’t supposed to ask questions about the war. Prior to college my only knowledge of the war was a) we lost and b) it was bad. When I took classes on the war in college, I was…
Making Monte Carlo: A History of Speculation and Spectacle by Mark Braude. A rollicking narrative history of Monte Carlo, capturing its nineteenth-century rise as the world’s first modern casino-resort and its Jazz Age heyday as infamous playground of the rich. [GoodReads] The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr. The war is over. Bernie Gunther,…
I picked up this book largely because it was, as the subtitle suggests, something I had never heard of before. Seligman’s Tong Wars is a story of Chinese American organized crime in New York City from its birth in the later half of the 19th century into the 1920s. In 1882 the United States passed…
“In a world beset by amassing forces of darkness, one organization—the Regional Office—and its coterie of super-powered female assassins protects the globe from annihilation. At its helm, the mysterious Oyemi and her oracles seek out new recruits and root out evil plots. Then a prophecy suggests that someone from inside might bring about its downfall. And now,…
Reading list curated by Tracy | The Summer Olympics are around the corner, with the opening ceremony set to take place Friday, August 5th. To help you get inspired and excited for the Olympics, we’ve compiled a list of nonfiction and fiction books related to the Olympics as well as nonfiction books on the topic…
You know how one book leads to another? The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Greg Steinmetz is one of those. I was reading The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance and the name Jacob Fugger was mentioned. It was almost nothing; just a mention that one of the Medici might have…