"Vive la Resistance! well, not really ....", WWII on YouTube
The Paris Girl. Francelle Bradford White. Citadel, 2024. 256 pages. Release date December 24, 2024, Advance Reader's Edition.
When Francelle Bradford White was six years old, she learned for the first time that her mother was a World War II heroine, with the war medals to prove it. Andree Griotteray was19 when German troops marched into Paris. She and her brother Alain, who later became a celebrated French journalist, immediately began working in the French Resistance. She had just begun work in the French passport office. Her brother created an underground network called Orion, and she proved to be a valuable member of the organization, secretly typing up and copying resistance newspapers, and collecting and forging identity paperwork used by agents in their work and by Jewish citizens in their escape attempts. She then became an undercover courier delivering critically important military intelligence to Resistance contacts and to Allied forces beyond. She participated in the creation of a major escape route through the Pyrenees Mountains into neutral Spain; this allowed hundreds of French men to join the Free French forces in Algeria and also allowed downed Allied pilots and crewmen and Jewish refugees to escape. Throughout it all, Griotteray displayed incredible courage and poise, allowing her to evade capture for a while and to survive arrest and interrogation when she was eventually captured. Here, the author uses her mother's thorough diaries and letters in addition to research not only to document her mother's extraordinary courage, but also to paint a very detailed picture of daily life in occupied France. It's a fine read for those who looking for a unique perspective on World War II.
Audiobook preview
Hammerhead Ranch Motel. Tim Dorsey. William Morrow, 2001. 384 pages. #2 of 26 Serge Storms novels.
This book, the second Serge Storms novel written by Tim Dorsey, proves that Dorsey definitely improved and refined things as the series progressed. Serge, Florida's greatest hype-man, history nut, and psychotic serial-killing vigilante anti-hero, almost seems like a minor character in this adventure, and he's not the more fully developed Serge that eventually emerges, and there is a real hole created by the absence of his traveling buddy, Coleman. The other Dorsey Hallmarks are still there: lots of Florida history, lots of wild characters, lots of crime, a little crazy sex, and lots of frantic storylines that all miraculously come together for an unbelievable climax. The overarching quest in this novel involves a briefcase containing $5 million dollars. Readers also get a bit of a deep dive into Serge's childhood and background.
The Siege of Vienna
The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europe. Andrew Wheatcroft. Basic Books, 2009. 384 pages.
For three hundred years, war raged off and on in southern and eastern Europe between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs, simultaneously a war for geopolitical dominance and a religious war, a continuation of the Crusades between Christians and Muslims. In 1683, Sultan Mehmed IV launched a huge invasion of Habsburg with the territory with the goal of conquering Vienna, the "Golden Apple" as the Turks called it. Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I was determined to hold Habsburg territory and to finally eliminate the Ottoman threat. Leopold was able to forge a new alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Polish King John III Sobieski. Sobieski and his specialized cavalry, the Hussars, along with grave errors made by the Ottoman commander saved the day, and the city. Although the war continued until 1699, the Ottomans never again posed as serious a threat and were forced to cede much territory to the Habsburgs. The Siege of Vienna marked the height of Ottoman and Habsburg power, and both empires began their long declines.
Historian Andrew Wheatcroft draws a vivid portrait of the centuries-long conflict, the battles and strategies, and the personalities involved without making it too tedious for someone like myself who usually finds military history boring. The Ottoman-Holy Roman Empire Wars represent a weak spot in my knowledge of European history, and this book educated and interested me.
Bluebeard. An Audible original. Jim Clemente and Peter McDonnell. Audible, 2024. 3 hours, 38 minutes.
This "read" was unique. It's not really a book, more like an original hybrid of a true crime podcast and an old-fashioned radio drama (I happen to enjoy listening to classic radio shows, comedies, dramas, suspense, science fiction, etc.) It's an adaptation of the real life story of James Watson, one of many aliases used by one of the most prolific serial killers on the West Coast. Nicknamed "Bluebeard" by the press after the French folktale character who married and murdered many wives. Watson placed lonely hearts ads in newspapers in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California in the early 1900s. He married at least 30 of the women who responded and eventually murdered as many as 25 of them. He also found time to rob numerous banks in the process. In April 1920, he was finally arrested on charges of bigamy. While being held and interrogated, the body of one of his victims was discovered, and he made a deal with prosecutors to confess in exchange for life imprisonment, dying in San Quentin Prison in 1939.
It was a highly entertaining story, well told, but it is a dramatic adaptation, not necessarily historically accurate.
Authors Talk
The 9th Man. Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood. Grand Central Publishing, 2023. 368 pages. Book 1 of 2 (so far) Luke Daniels novels.
I recently read and enjoyed the first Cotton Malone novel by Steve Berry. While Malone continues his history-based adventures, Berry has teamed up with another author to spin off a new new series featuring a younger associate of Berry. Luke Daniels. Daniels is another southern gentlemen, like Malone, a former Army Ranger, highly trained and capable, also with a deep knowledge of history. Same general idea, lots of action, intriguing mysteries, shady individuals, double crosses and triple crosses, lots of weapons, high body counts, and history-shaking secrets revealed. A second Luke Daniels title was released in 2024, and another is scheduled for release in 2025.
In The 9th Man, Daniels is drawn into danger, by a woman of course, and finds himself locked in a deadly battle with a very powerful and ruthless man who will literally do anything to cover up his role in the assassination of President Kennedy. It was a fast and enjoyable read. I'll be reading more Cotton Malone and Luke Daniels books.
Tells the story of Frances Perkins, who was appointed Labor Secretary by FDR during the Great Depression. The first female Cabinet member, she created the Social Security program, the federal minimum wage, the 40-hour work week, and ended the legal use of child labor. Featuring interviews with Nancy Pelosi, George Mitchell, David Brooks, Lawrence O’Donnell and Amy Klobuchar.
Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins' Efforts to Aid Refugees From Nazi Germany. Rebecca Brenner Graham. Citadel, January 21, 2025. 336 pages. Advance Reader's Copy.
This biography ended up on my favorite ten reads list for 2024. I always knew Frances Perkins as a footnote, albeit a major footnote, in American history, and I always made sure to mention her when I taught, but I never did her story the justice that she deserved. American history buffs might recognize her as the first female in the presidential cabinet, serving as FDR's Secretary of Labor. More than casual buffs might know that she was a literal eyewitness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire, standing on the street below the building as dozens of young immigrant women jumped to their deaths to escape the fire, and that motivated her to become one of the driving forces behind occupational safety and labor regulations that had a tremendous impact on American society. She became a leading figure in the New York state government administration before FDR took her to Washington, and she continued to make history and real fundamental, lasting changes, making a real case for consideration as the most effective and important American woman in the 20th century. Yet, few, including history buffs and teachers like myself know enough about the real Frances Perkins.
She had major struggles in her life and career, a husband who spent most of their marriage in and out of mental institutions as a manic depressive, probably what would be bipolar disorder today. She had to deal with the sexism that women in any career faced, especially politics, as she was always the only woman in the room. She was the object of vitriolic attacks in the press, and voluminous hate mail that accused her of being a communist and Jewish (She was Episcopalian.). She was impeached (but not removed) from Congress, and even FDR, who had been an ardent supporter and admirer, turned his back on her when her progressivism threatened his support. (Another strong, accomplished woman who made him what he was that he betrayed.) At the time of her tenure, immigration fell under the purview of the Labor Department, and she made it her mission to help refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. This book gives the reader a look into her phenomenal character and career, particularly this part of it. She was a real American hero.
Author talk
You Dreamed of Empires. Alvaro Enrigue. Translated by Natasha Wimmer. Harvill Secker, 2024. 224 pages.
I first saw glowing reviews of this book a couple of weeks ago, reviews that hailed it as original, creative, funny, anti-colonial, genius, etc. It's mostly an account of the events of one day in history, the day that Hernan Cortex and his conquistadors arrived in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, as the guests (or prisoners?) of Emperor Montezuma (Moctezuma II) and a meeting of two vastly different cultures that would prove to be one of the most fateful meetings of history. My feeling after reading the book? Meh. Of course it's anti-colonial, otherwise it would never have been published and would never have made all the media lists of best books of the year. The Spanish are minor characters in the story, naturally portrayed as arrogant and ignorant buffoons, totally clueless about everything. The real story is the palace intrigue as Montezuma (Moctezuma) is simultaneously a quivering mass of uncertainty and an all-powerful man-god. He is so powerful that if one of his subjects commits the smallest infraction of protocol, he simply tells the offender to report to the palace guards to report to the palace guards and tell them to execute him, AND HE DOES! Yet, these weird visitors have him flummoxed, his priests advise him that he shouldn't do what his instincts tell him needs to be done, and his empress/sister and subordinates plot against him, so he spends the day eating, napping, bathing, and consuming lots of hallucinogens.
There's a little humor, a little magic, a little historical accuracy, and a lot of strangeness. I don't even think it's all that original. It reminds me of the late 1960s and early 1970s when authors and filmmakers started churning out works that redefined the western - making whites ridiculous and evil, while finally bringing humanity and a more well-rounded characterization to Native Americans. Overall, I found the book interesting, but overrated.
Author talk
Broadway Butterfly: Vivian Gordon the Lady Gangster of Jazz Age New York. Anthony M. DeStefano. Citadel, 2024. 256 pages.
In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a group of women who followed their dreams of theatrical stardom to New York City. There were so many that they were given a name, "Broadway Butterflies." Few of them attained stardom, or even work, on the Broadway stage. Most had their dreams dashed, and some were forced to turn to even less savory occupations in dance halls and nightclubs, or, even worse as kept women, mistresses, or sex workers. Some found themselves in lives of addiction or criminality, and several were murdered during the Jazz Age. The most notorious example of the tragic Broadway Butterfly was probably Vivian Gordon. On February 26, 1931, Gordon's battered lifeless body was discovered in a Bronx park. The murder led to revelations of her life as not only a prostitute and madam, but also as a blackmailer and extortionist who kept detailed records of important men and their business with her and her girls. These men were in the top ranks of New York society, business, and government and even included the infamous Judge Joseph Crater, who disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. Gordon's murder generated a press frenzy and a public outcry, revealing the entrenched corruption of the New York legal system and the blatant corruption and incompetence of the city's charismatic Mayor Jimmy Walker. In fact, Walker was a firm ally of Governor Franklin Roosevelt before the murder, but the public nature of the mishandled and bungled investigation led FDR to turn against the Mayor so that his rising presidential campaign suffered no damage. Was the murderer one of her angry clients, a man afraid that she could testify about the system, of someone else? DeStefano is a Pulitzer-winning journalist who's written several books about historical organized crime figures, and he takes the reader through Gordon's story, the various theories about why she was murdered, and the political ramifications that resulted.
