Eisenhower's Armies: The American-British Alliance During World War II (Niall Barr)

Eisenhower's Armies by Niall Barr recounts the British-American alliance during World War II, focusing on the relationship between the British and Americans in combating the Axis powers in Western Europe.  It's the story of two different nations, one on the rise and one who fought gallantly in the early wars of  the war, and how these armies had to learn to live, work, and fight together despite tactical and philosophical disagreements on how to fight the war.

Barr, whose specialty is 20th Century History, delivers painstaking details of the relationship between the United States and Great Britain. If you like insight, the author goes way beyond World War II and talks about the history of American-British military relations going back to the Colonial Era.  While important for context, the depth and breadth of what was covered by Barr was arguably excessive if you value a quick read.  At 470 pages, this book can grind into some level of detail and would require an occasional re-read or two to get points across.

It would also have been a benefit to see more coverage devoted to the air campaign and coordination between the United States and Great Britain.  While some coverage was devoted to the importance of the British air support in North Africa, more could have been devoted to the coverage of the last year of conflict, specifically in how the United States and Britain worked together effectively through air sorties in the Battle of the Bulge and the attacks the Allied forces provided in advance of the invasion at Normady.  This could have been provided at the expense of an exhaustive back story into the relationship between the Americans and Brits.  Nonetheless, the book is an effective historical account of the "Special Relationship" and its evolution over time.

MY RATING - 3

1946: The Making of the Modern World (Victor Sebestyen)

1946: The Making Of The Modern World by Victor Sebestyen provides a play-by-play of the events of the first full year after the end of World War II.  The year was action-packed, full of international drama from an unsettled Europe to an emerging Cold War showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union.  Sebestyen does a very effective job capturing the year in context of a radically changing political landscape.

One of the best features of the book is Sebestyen's occasional, but poignant, use of footnotes within the book.  Whether it was to portray an individual's eccentricities in a greater context or to refer the reader to an additional author and their work related to a specific 1946-related event, the footnotes added tremendous value and were used wisely throughout the book.

Sebestyen captures the emerging political landscape in 1946 by weaving in past context where appropriate, showing how decisions made by global leaders were scrutinized and how the world went from being united against Fascism to being divided between democracy and communism as the two major political systems that governed the world for nearly forty years.

The 380-page book is well-sourced and a fast read.  Sebestyen should be applauded for not just recapping the year but for his ability to weave in the personalities of Stalin, Truman, Churchill, Attlee, and other global leaders to provide context in how and why events of that year played out.  Given how much change has taken place in our recent times, it's important to point out that the mid 1940's provided even more rapid change and instability.  The author illustrates that quite well in his book.

MY RATING - 4

The Restaurant Critic's Wife (Elizabeth LaBan)

As a Philadelphian, I've read (and depended on) quite a few of Craig LaBan's restaurant reviews.  So I was very interested in "devouring" his spouse's novel The Restaurant Critic's Wife.  In her acknowledgments, LaBan writes that "For the record, Craig is not quite as obsessive or controlling as Sam -- and he didn't even tell me to say that."  Which is good, because the restaurant critic (Sam) in the book is quite the unlikable character.

There's really not much of a plotline here.  The wife in this instance, Lila, has just moved to a close-knit Philly neighborhood with Sam and her two children, Hazel and Henry.  As a very well-known critic, Sam is obsessed with keeping his identity secret.  This sometimes just takes the form of wearing disguises when he goes out, but more often than not takes on ridiculous methods: wanting Lila to ask any potential friends if they own a restaurant, refraining from showing her face in public, and not wanting her to go back to the work she loves.  The entire novel basically just recounts Lila's banal days as she tries to follow Sam's "directions," but she obviously wants more for herself.  It's not difficult to figure out the ending here.

With such an unlikable character at its forefront and not much of a plotline, it's hard to discern what the point of The Restaurant Critic's Wife really was.  However, the writing is good, so this is a great book to throw in your beach bag when you just want to zone out in the sun.

MY RATING - 3

Approval Junkie: Adventures in Caring Too Much (Faith Salie)

I was excited to read Faith Salie’s Approval Junkie: Adventures in Caring Too Much because that describes me to a tee.  A collection of oftentimes hilarious essays, the book is a quick read that will have you laughing at loud.  However, I didn’t quite understand how some of the essays were related to the topic as a whole.  But oh well – most of them were fun to read anyway.

Salie’s irreverent style works well in each chapter, as she comes right out and says what most of us are thinking. From her time winning “Miss Aphrodite” in her high school’s beauty pageant to her joys as a new mother, she doesn’t mince words, and extra fun for the average Joe who is not a celebrity, she names names of famous people she has encountered.  Not all of her essays are meant to be funny, however; the selection describing her agony of trying to get pregnant is especially poignant.

Some chapters are better written and relate more to the topic at hand than others, but those who so identify with the approval-seeking phenomenon will appreciate the book as a whole.

MY RATING - 3

The Year We Turned Forty (Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke)

A lot can happen in ten years -- some very good and some very bad.  But what if you could have a do-over to change your choices?  Would you want that chance?  The Year We Turned Forty, the last reviewed book of 2015, asks us that tough question.

Jessie, Gabriela, and Claire are three best friends who have made some decisions in the past that have changed the course of their lives.  Jessie had a one-night stand which resulted in the birth of her son, Lucas.  While she regrets that her husband left her once he found it, she obviously would never give up her son.  Gabriela is a bestselling author who put off having children, and once she decided she wanted one, her husband said it was too late.  And Claire wishes she had become closer to her own mother before her mom's death from cancer.  

When all three have the chance to return to age forty, they take it.  But did they bite off more than they can chew?  By changing the course of their lives, is their happiness guaranteed?  Or will the new decisions they make just create new problems?  Readers will root for these friends every step of the way, especially when they decide if staying in their new lives is what they really want or if they want to return to reality.

MY RATING - 4

The Quality of Silence (Rosamund Lupton)

Rosamund Lupton's truly stunning The Quality of Silence is a book probably unlike anything you've read before.  The gripping plotline will make your heart pound as it races to its powerful climax.

We begin with Yasmin and Ruby, an English mother and daughter trying to find Matt, their husband/father, in the Alaskan wilderness.  Authorities have never searched for him, convinced that he perished in a fire with villagers he was staying with.  Yasmin refuses to believe this, and so sets off to find him with Ruby in tow; Ruby just happens to be deaf which plays an integral part in the story.  Getting to the village is almost impossible, so Yasmin steals a big rig truck.  Of course, there are plenty of obstacles, such as an enormous storm and someone ominously following them in their own truck; this person will apparently do anything in his power to prevent them from finding Matt.

Besides the engrossing plot, what makes The Quality of Silence also great is that the setting is almost a character in and of itself.  Lupton's descriptions of the Alaskan terrain are mesmerizing, and we as readers can't help but root Yasmin and Ruby on in their determined quest.

MY RATING - 4

Eleanor (Jason Gurley)

Every so often a book comes along that gets wonderful reviews from others but that I just didn’t like that much.  Such is the case with Jason Gurley’s Eleanor.  This novel is so fantastical (and not in the effective Neil Gaiman way), that it was difficult to follow along with, and by ¾ of the way in, I wanted it to be done.

The beginning of Eleanor leaves no indication of where it’s eventually going.  Eleanor is mother to Agnes and wife to Hob, who one day swims into the water never to be seen again.  Fast forward decades later and Agnes is now mother to red-headed twins, Esmerelda and Eleanor, who is obviously named for her grandmother.  On the way to pick up their husband and father, Paul, from the airport, Esmerelda is tragically killed in a car accident.  Everyone is shattered, and a few years later, Eleanor enters another world —literally.  This is where the story takes a downturn, and while I admire Gurley’s ambition, I felt this just didn’t pair well with the beginning of the book.

If I’ve learned nothing else as an avid reader and reviewer, it’s that all books aren’t for everyone.  But don’t let my opinion stop you from picking up Eleanor — you might just love it.

MY RATING - 2