About: The Allies: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and the Unlikely Alliance That Won World War II by Winston Groom is a non-fiction book which recounts how Russia became and unlikely ally with the United States and England during World War II. Mr. Groom is a historian and novelist. 464 pages Publisher: National Geographic Language: English ISBN-10: […]

About: Four Soldiers by Hubert Mingarelli (translated by Sam Taylor) is a short novel taking about members of the Russian Army fighting the Russian Civil War in 1919. Mr. Mingarelli is a French writer, he won the Prix Medici prize in 2003 for this novel. 144 pages Publisher: The New Press Language: English ISBN-10: 1620974401 […]

I love a good spy novel, a great one is even better, and a great non-fiction book which reads like a great spy novel is the best.

About: Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan is a novel about the Russian women pilots of World War II known by their victims as the “Night Witches”.  Ms. Runyan likes to write about history’s unsung heroes, or at least unsung in the US. 301 pages Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (January 1, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 1503946770 […]

I was excited from the first time I head the plans to make a standalone Felix Leiter story. With all the trepidations and pre-judgements that came with the announcement, only one thought, and one thought only, was on my mind – about damn time!

This is a two part story, the first one, as the name of the book suggests, is the story of the Nazis trying to control people’s beliefs via literature, punishment and spectacles of burning books symbolizing “wrong” ideology. The second part is the painstaking cataloging of millions of books, returning what can be returned (through notes, plates and other identifying marks).

The narrative is very absorbing and powerful, I was especially fascinated to read how decisions in the upper echelons of government impact the little person on the street who just wants a good job and a warm meal.

A very ambitious and well researched novel which tries to understand how good people simply roll over and help commit atrocities

The authors go to great length not only to tell a story, but give the reader the historical context in which the events were happening, as well as the social and political climates.

About: From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming is the 5th novel in the series featuring English spy James Bond, 007. The book was published in 1957 and is considered one of the quintessential Cold War novels.   253 pages Publisher: Fine Communications (July 1997) Language: English ISBN-10: 1567310532   My rat­ing for From Russia […]