Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Nov. 18–24

Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Nov. 18–24
Dustin Bass
Jeff Minick
Anita L. Sherman
Barbara Danza
Updated:
This week, we feature a Pulitzer-winning novel unveiling the insanity of North Korea and a grim exploration of the covert spread of CCP espionage.

Fiction

Love and Insanity in North Korea

‘The Orphan Master’s Son’ By Adam Johnson

Basing his novel on his months of experience in North Korea and his knowledge of the Kim dynasty’s obsession with film, Adam Johnson created an unforgettable and Pulitzer Prize-winning tale about love and sacrifice within the cruel and insane world that is North Korea.

Random House, 2012, 443 pages

Looking for Love and Proof of God

‘The Second Coming’ By Walker Percy

Told with Percy’s unique take on our modern absurdities, this novel features Will Barrett, a widower living in North Carolina, who’s so depressed that he no longer wants to live. After a long night of the soul spent in a cave, Will is rescued by Allison, a fugitive from a mental hospital who has recently come into his life. The two soon find that they can help each other. There’s more here than a love story: Themes of alienation, mental illness, and theology are delivered with a great, goofy sense of humor.

Picador, 1999, 368 pages

History

Pioneering Allied Airborne Operations

‘Churchill’s Shadow Raiders: The Race to Develop Radar, World War II’s Invisible Secret Weapon’ By Damien Lewis

The British developed airborne forces in 1940. Lewis offers an exciting tale about the first two combat operations by British paratroopers. It combines these stories with a look at the “Wizard War,” the battle between Britain and Germany for electronics superiority. The first operation attempted to destroy an aqueduct in Italy. The other destroyed a German radar station and secretly carried off the radar for intelligence analysis, a mission that certainly changed the course of the war.

Citadel, 2020, 416 pages

Science

Landing on Their Feet

‘Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics’ By Gregory J. Gbur

Do cats always land on their feet? While not universally true, this saying proves generally so. But why? The cat-owner/scientist answers the question. He blends whimsy with the history of technology, the development of physics, and cat curiosities to explain why cats land on their feet. This is a fun book, as much about scientific research and the multitudinous implications of the cat-righting reflex as it is about falling cats.

Yale University Press, 2019, 352 pages

Espionage

Unmasking China’s Secret Intent

‘Spies and Lies: How China’s Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World’ By Alex Joske

Decades ago, Western governments were lulled into a false sense of security when it came to China. China appeared open to reform, eager to explore economic opportunities, exchange cultural ideas, and encourage business collaborations. Patiently, China has been cleverly changing attitudes and becoming a master at the influence game.

Hardie Grant, 2022, 304 pages

Classics

Great Things, Small Packages

‘Great Short Poems: Selections by Shakespeare, Burns, Wordsworth, Shelley, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Dunbar and Many Others’ Edited by Paul Negri

For a bargain basement price, Negri gives us more than 150 masterpieces of English and American verse, all of them 24 lines or less, and most much shorter. These poems by the likes of Shakespeare, Richard Lovelace, Robert and Elizabeth Browning, and Langston Hughes have appeared in countless anthologies, but here they are gathered into a single, short collection. This is the perfect little book to keep in the den for a quick burst of inspiration, or give to a lit-smitten teenager for a stocking-stuffer or graduation gift.

Dover Publications, 2000, 64 pages

For Kids

Helping Your Child Eat Veggies

‘I Can’t Eat This Stuff: How to Get Your Toddler to Eat Their Vegetables’ By Liz Fletcher

Louie is a little elephant who’s not a fan of vegetables. But when the vegetables explain that they’re the fuel of superheroes, he tries them out and feels their superpowers working on him. Illustrated by Greg Bishop. Grades K–2.

Brave Kids Press, 2019, 28 pages

Charming Tall Tales

‘McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm’ By Sid Fleischman

Josh McBroom thinks his 80-acre farm was a bargain until he discovers each acre is stacked atop one another at the bottom of a pond. When the soil’s richness reveals itself, a fantastical story sprouts, leaving readers in stitches.

Greenwillow Books, 1997, 64 pages
Dustin Bass is an author and co-host of The Sons of History podcast. He also writes two weekly series for The Epoch Times: Profiles in History and This Week in History.
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