Article by: CHUCK LEDDY , Special to the Star Tribune Updated: November 26, 2011 - 5:29 PM
HISTORY
"BERLIN 1961: KENNEDY, KHRUSHCHEV, AND THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH" by Frederick Kempe (Putnam, $29.95)
The author vividly recreates the high-stakes Cold War story of the fateful months leading up to the Aug. 13, 1961, construction of the Berlin Wall. Kempe describes how Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev came to regard his U.S. counterpart, President John F. Kennedy, as weak-willed and so terrified of nuclear war that he'd appease Soviet bloc aggression in exchange for peace. Kempe's eye-opening and well-researched history should trigger a serious re-evaluation of President Kennedy's tumultuous first few months in office, a time when the young president went eye to eye with Khrushchev in a perilous game of brinksmanship.
"IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN" by Erik Larson (Crown, $26)
The author of "Devil in the White City" brings us inside the murky world of Berlin during the first year of Hitler's reign. Larson details the efforts of U.S. Ambassador William Dodd to warn the State Department about Hitler's dangerous ambitions, while also portraying the scandalously carefree life of Dodd's beautiful daughter, Martha, as she throws herself into love affairs with some of Berlin's most lethal men (including both the head of the Gestapo and a Soviet spy).
"GRANT'S FINAL VICTORY: ULYSSES S. GRANT'S HEROIC LAST YEAR" by Charles Bracelin Flood (Da Capo Press, $27.50)
In this inspiring tale of resilience, biographer Flood describes an aging, ailing Ulysses S. Grant confronting both bankruptcy and throat cancer, while working tirelessly to finish writing his classic "Memoirs." Flood relates how a bedridden Grant finished his book through amazing effort, submitting it to his publisher, Mark Twain, just four days before his death.
"THE LONGEST WAR: THE ENDURING CONFLICT BETWEEN AMERICA AND AL-QAEDA" by Peter Bergen (Free Press, $16) ...
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/134431153.html
"BERLIN 1961: KENNEDY, KHRUSHCHEV, AND THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH" by Frederick Kempe (Putnam, $29.95)
The author vividly recreates the high-stakes Cold War story of the fateful months leading up to the Aug. 13, 1961, construction of the Berlin Wall. Kempe describes how Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev came to regard his U.S. counterpart, President John F. Kennedy, as weak-willed and so terrified of nuclear war that he'd appease Soviet bloc aggression in exchange for peace. Kempe's eye-opening and well-researched history should trigger a serious re-evaluation of President Kennedy's tumultuous first few months in office, a time when the young president went eye to eye with Khrushchev in a perilous game of brinksmanship.
"IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN" by Erik Larson (Crown, $26)
The author of "Devil in the White City" brings us inside the murky world of Berlin during the first year of Hitler's reign. Larson details the efforts of U.S. Ambassador William Dodd to warn the State Department about Hitler's dangerous ambitions, while also portraying the scandalously carefree life of Dodd's beautiful daughter, Martha, as she throws herself into love affairs with some of Berlin's most lethal men (including both the head of the Gestapo and a Soviet spy).
"GRANT'S FINAL VICTORY: ULYSSES S. GRANT'S HEROIC LAST YEAR" by Charles Bracelin Flood (Da Capo Press, $27.50)
In this inspiring tale of resilience, biographer Flood describes an aging, ailing Ulysses S. Grant confronting both bankruptcy and throat cancer, while working tirelessly to finish writing his classic "Memoirs." Flood relates how a bedridden Grant finished his book through amazing effort, submitting it to his publisher, Mark Twain, just four days before his death.
"THE LONGEST WAR: THE ENDURING CONFLICT BETWEEN AMERICA AND AL-QAEDA" by Peter Bergen (Free Press, $16) ...
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/134431153.html
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