Nonfiction
By Emily Compagno
Each chapter in this book features an American combatant who looked to God while on the battlefield. Medic Jessica Harris in Iraq; Navy Capt. Charlie Plumb, who spent six years in a North Vietnamese prison; Master Sgt. Bob Burr, who survived his wounds at Korea’s Battle of Heartbreak Ridge; Sgt. Andy Negra, who fought both the Germans and the cold weather at the Battle of the Bulge—these and others relate the positive effects of their faith while in combat. Inspirational and informative.
Spy Thriller
By Nick Harkaway
The son of John le Carré, Nick Harkaway, has picked up where his famous spy-novelist father left off. Le Carré died in 2020, having written some of the best works in fictional espionage, including one of the genre’s most memorable characters: George Smiley. Harkaway has produced a new work with Smiley as the protagonist. The setting is mid-1960s in between two of le Carré’s works. Fascinatingly, Harkaway not only brings Smiley back to life, but also the method and style of his late father.
American History
By Thomas Fleming
Fleming was a giant among American historians. He died in July 2017 aged 90. This is his last book, and it may be his best. It examines George Washington’s command of the Continental Army. He shows how Washington developed a unique strategy for defeating Great Britain. Instead of taking and holding territory, he focused on maintaining a trained professional Continental Army. This book is an outstanding short, comprehensive, and original discussion of a complicated issue—readable and fascinating.
Science Fiction
By Jason Cordova
St. Dominic’s Preparatory School for Girls, a private Catholic school, offers a last chance for at-risk girls, a sort of reform school. Secluded on Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, it was a good spot to survive the H7D3 virus that ravaged human civilization. This book tells its story through 17-year-old Maddie Coryell. Dale, so-called King of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is creating a kingdom. He wants St. Dominic’s in it, whether they want it to be or not. But he must overcome a resolute nun and Maddie.
Classics
Edited by A.S. Byatt
Assembled by Booker Prize winner Byatt, this collection features work by authors like Charles Dickens, G.K. Chesterton, Saki, and Evelyn Waugh, as well as a few by those less well-known to us today, like Arthur Morrison and Mary Mann. Byatt’s 16-page “Introduction,” where she explains why she chose these particular stories and offers thumbnail sketches of the authors and their tales, is a delight of critique, wit, and language. Here’s a great gift for the lover of literature in your life.
For Kids
By Henry Cole
Illustrated with stunning line art, this beautiful picture book follows beavers as they work to build their home and raise their young. Interesting and engaging, the reader sees the amazing process that beavers undertake to create their extraordinary structures along with the challenges they face from the weather, predators, and life in the wild.
