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Posts Tagged ‘history’
“It may be that the mystery of Everett’s disappearance will never be solved,” writes David Roberts, author of Finding Everett Ruess. “But thanks to the controversy that swirled around Comb Ridge, we have more hints and clues about the wanderer’s fate – and about his character – than we have ever had before. In that sense, Finding Everett Ruess may form the appropriate rubric for a collective quest to solve a riddle that has no parallel in the history of the American West.”
Debby’s book group – the Temple Har Shalom Evening Book Group from Warren, NJ – met recently and had a lively discussion of In the Garden of Beasts. “As a group of Jewish women,” Debby shared with RIF, “we were interested in the Jewish issues that came up throughout the book, including the anti-Semitism of some U.S. government officials – and perhaps the Dodds themselves – as well as the often-asked question of what could have been done to stop Hitler, if anything.”
I wanted to write a story about the intrepid men who traveled from the newly civilized West to a place that remained excitingly dangerous, a fierce and lawless land. I wanted to write about heroes, villains, and dreamers who joined the great stampede to the frozen north. And, oh yeah, as I said, if all that wasn’t challenge enough, I wanted to write a true story, to boot.
Read It Forward loves Erik Larson – his books, his blog, the way he lets us inside “the author’s lair,” his candid talk about where he gets ideas for his books. He wanders the library stacks, he reads newspaper obits, he visits museums when he’s on tour. “Mostly, though, I have no idea where my ideas come from,” he admits, “They rise to the surface over time like methane in a swamp, waiting to be ignited by some small spark.”
Chances are, you’ve read it, read about it, or heard friends talking about this extraordinary story. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has been hailed by critics and embraced by readers, including RIFers! In addition to spending fifty-five weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has been selected for over 60 Best of the Year lists and has already won several awards. Soon to be made into an HBO movie by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball. Not to be missed.
When I began to write a book about these four men and the revolution in science they helped bring about, I saw it as a story of science and ideas. Soon, however, it became a story of friendship. These men were such fascinating intellects. Each was brilliant in more than one field – Babbage the inventor of the first computer, Herschel a great astronomer who also coinvented photography, and Jones an economist of note who influenced Karl Marx – and together they utterly transformed science. Yet they were also passionate, loving men, whose relationships with one another (as well as with the women in their lives) were intense. This was a true fellowship of minds and hearts, one which I still find inspiring.
As someone who knew Bobby Fischer from the time he was quite young, I’ve been asked hundreds of times, “What was Bobby Fischer really like?” This book is an attempt to answer that question. But a warning to those who turn these pages: Paradoxes abound. Bobby was secretive, yet candid; generous, yet parsimonious; naive, yet well informed; cruel, yet kind; religious, yet heretical. His games were filled with charm and beauty and significance. His outrageous pronouncements were filled with cruelty and prejudice and hate. And though for a period of decades he poured most of his energy and passion into a quest for chess excellence, he was not the idiot savant often portrayed by the press.
Calling all Erik Larson fans! A very special offer for you and your book group: we’re giving away advance copies of Erik’s new book – In the Garden of Beasts, coming out in May – to 10 book groups. One lucky book group will win the grand prize: Erik will call or video chat with your group, sure to make for a one-of-a-kind discussion. To enter for the chance to win, leave a comment telling us a bit about your book group!
Bestselling author Stephan Talty travels the world researching great untold stories that he brings to life with a journalist’s precision and a novelist’s empathy. His works of nonfiction read like page-turning novels full of unforgettable characters. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Blue Water and The Illustrious Dead. His newest book, Escape from the Land of the Snows, tells the thrilling story of the young Dalai Lama’s harrowing escape from Tibet. Readers who are new to the Dalai Lama’s life story will be amazed. Readers who know the story well will be surprised.
Was the “Blood Countess” history’s first and perhaps worst female serial killer? Or did her accusers create a violent fiction in order to remove this beautiful, intelligent, ambitious foe from the male-dominated world of Hungarian politics? Author Rebecca Johns imagines a conversation with her heroine, Erzsébet Báthory. Compelling and chilling at the same time, The Countess is unlike any heroine you’ve ever met, and Rebecca Johns’ novel is unlike any historical fiction you’ve ever read: an intimate look at the woman who became a monster.
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