The Big Burn

Author: Timothy Egan
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010
Pages: 324
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men—college boys, day workers, immigrants from mining camps—to fight the fire. But no living person had seen anything like those flames, and neither the rangers nor anyone else knew how to subdue them.

 Egan narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force. Equally dramatic is the larger story he tells of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot. Pioneering the notion of conservation, Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by and preserved for every citizen.

Review: Here I go, back into the world of Muir, Pinchot, W. A. Clark, and Roosevelt. It's a fascinating cast of characters centered around preservation and a devastating forest fire. I've read a lot about these men this year, as well as the topic at hand. Every book sheds a little more light on the time and place, as well as the events.

Furthermore, this book was written by Timothy Egan, who also wrote The Worst Hard Time, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Egan takes some time to set up "The Big Burn," too long if I'm being honest and the unlike the fire itself it quickly dies out. This just wasn't the page turner that The Worst Hard Time was. Maybe I've read too many books now about forest fires. 

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

Author: Karen Abbott
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2014
Pages: 528
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: In Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, bestselling author Karen Abbott tells the spellbinding true story of four women who risked everything—their homes, their families, and their very lives—during the Civil War.

Seventeen-year-old Belle Boyd, an avowed rebel with a dangerous temper, shot a Union soldier in her home and became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her considerable charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds disguised herself as a man to enlist as a Union private named Frank Thompson, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the war and infiltrating enemy lines, all the while fearing that her past would catch up with her. The beautiful widow Rose O'Neal Greenhow engaged in affairs with powerful Northern politicians, used her young daughter to send information to Southern generals, and sailed abroad to lobby for the Confederacy, a journey that cost her more than she ever imagined. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper Southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring—even placing a former slave inside the Confederate White House—right under the noses of increasingly suspicious rebel detectives.

Abbott's pulse-quickening narrative weaves the adventures of these four forgotten daredevils into the tumultuous landscape of a broken America, evoking a secret world that will surprise even the most avid enthusiasts of Civil War–era history. With a cast of real-life characters, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, Detective Allan Pinkerton, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Emperor Napoléon III, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy shines a dramatic new light on these daring—and, until now, unsung—heroines.

Review: Femme Fatale, Civil War style.

This work of non-fiction brings together names that you may have heard individually in other books and sources. 

Abbott weaves together these women's stories as they occurred over the course of four years. It's an interesting format, and she knows just where to stop in the narrative to keep you coming back for more. For example, you read about Belle Boyd's escapade or latest act of espionage and just when you think you're going to find out what happens next, another woman's story picks up.

I found myself wondering what kind of Civil War era woman I would have been.

This novel will dispel the misconception that women are the weaker sex. 

The Gazebo

Author: Kimberly Cates
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Harlequin, 2014
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When former wild child Deirdre McDaniel clears out her childhood home, she comes face-to-face with a lifetime of memories and failures. Once she'd dreamed of making it big, but her high school pregnancy had changed all that. Now co-owner of a B&B, Deirdre struggles to make up for lost time with her daughter, to overcome the demons of her past and to open her guarded heart to Jake—the new man in her life.

But when long-buried secrets return to haunt her, will Jake accept the truth behind the woman he's come to care about more than he'd thought possible…or will he let old wounds destroy the fragile new love they share?

Review: Happiness is. . .reading page after page hoping the book the gets better. And, it does!! 

In the beginning, the story feels trite. The brooding Alpha male. The strong and independent, yet angry, single mom. Hang in there. The author finds her way about halfway through and it this stays strong through the end. 

The plot and even the characters aren't anything you haven't read before, but there are touching moments. Even I teared up a little.

Twelve Across

Author: Barbara Delinsky
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Severn House Publishers, 1987 (reprint 2013)
Pages: 224
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Garrick Rodenheiser crashed, burned anf found a second chance when he crawled away from the wreckage of his life four years ago. And while he hasn't exactly escaped his past, he's kept it far enough away. Until trouble in the form of a rain-soaked, bleeding woman comes banging on the door of his remote cabin. True, she doesn't look like a reporter. But the word trust simply isn't in Garrick's vocabulary anymore.

Review: Maybe a little cliche and expected, but not bad for escapist reading. Barbara Delinsky is one of my go-to fiction writers.

I sailed through this novel in just a few hours.

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die

Author: Willie Nelson and Kinky Friedman
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher, 2013
Pages: 192
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: You won't see no sad and teary eyes when I get my wings, and it's my time to fly

Just call my friends and tell them there's a party, come on by
So just roll me up and smoke me when I die

In Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Willie Nelson muses about his greatest influences and celebrates the family, friends, and colleagues who have blesses his remarkable journey. Willie riffs on music, wives, Texas, politics, horses, religion, marijuana, children, the environment, poker, hogs, Nashville, karma, and more. He shares the outlaw wisdom he has acquired over eight decades, along with favorite jokes and insights. Rare family pictures, beautiful artwork created by his son Micah Nelson, and lyrics to classic songs punctuate these charming and poignant memories.

At once a road journal and a fitting tribute to America's greatest traveling bard, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die—introduced by Kinky Friedman, another favorite son of Texas—is a deeply personal look into the heart and soul of one of the greatest artists of our time.

Review: I love Willie Nelson's music, but this was a waste. It was rambling, repetitive, and not at all introspective. I'd be embarrassed to publish anything this mediocre, especially when the world knows what a fabulous wordsmith he can be.

Micah Nelson's artwork was the book's only redeeming quality.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2013
Pages: 384
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: In a life that spanned nearly a century and witnessed some of the most momentous events in American history, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born a slave. A gifted seamstress, she earned her freedom by the skill of her needle, and won the friendship of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln by her devotion. A sweeping historical novel, Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker illuminates the extraordinary relationship the two women shared, beginning in the hallowed halls of the White House during the trials of the Civil War and enduring almost, but not quite, to the end of Mrs. Lincoln’s days.

Review: Although a work of fiction, Elizabeth Keckley was a real person and confidante to the First Lady.

I can appreciate the research that went into writing this novel, but out of 384 pages, I was bored nearly to tears for about 275 of them.

When the author was writing about Mrs. Keckley, Mrs. Lincoln, and Abraham Lincoln, and nuances of their relationships, the story flowed nicely and was actually interesting. However, she spent far too much time discussing details of the Civil War that only detracted from the story line. Such details are not relevant to this particular story.

Had Chiaverini stayed on task this would have been a more compelling, note-worthy read. Disappointing.

Other Jennifer Chiaverini Novels
Canary Girls
Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule
Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters
Switchboard Soldiers

Killing Lincoln

Author: Bill O'Reilly
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Holt, Henry, & Company, Inc, 2011
Pages: 336
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of incredibly bloody battles. President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. One man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased.

In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington, D.C., John Wilkes Booth—charismatic ladies' man and impenitent racist—murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country's most wanted fugitive. Lafayette C. Baker, a brilliant but enigmatic New York detective and former Union spy, unravels the string of clues leading to Booth, while federal forces track his accomplices. The thrilling chase ends in a fiery shootout and a series of court-ordered executions—including that of the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government, Mary Surratt. With an unforgettable cast of characters, vivid historical detail, and page-turning action, Killing Lincoln is history that reads like a thriller.

Review: This certainly does read like a thriller. I could not put it down. I expected to like it; I didn't expect it to be one of the best books I've read this year.

I've studied the Civil War, Lincoln's presidency, and reconstruction extensively since high school history class, and then again as a history major in college so the fact that I still found this to be a page turner, even knowing as much as I do about this period and person, speaks to how well the story is told.

The only question that remains is why did I wait so long to read it?