May, 2021: In The Books Part 1

 May was such a great month for reading that I wish I could rewind and do it all over again. Seven books. Two audiobooks. Who Was...? books! Brilliant nonfiction! Two new author discoveries!

1. The Splendid and the Vile - Erik Larson. Nonfiction. Audiobook. It's so satisfying to read books by your favorite authors the moment the books are published, but even more fun is to let several of their works pass you by. Then, in a few weeks or months, devour them in a reading frenzy. When The Splendid and the Vile came out last year, I knew I couldn't put off Erik Larson much longer. Set mainly during the first years of Winston Churchill's time as prime minister, it was also at the time when Germany was bombing England with impunity. Told mostly through firsthand accounts and diaries, including Churchill's teenaged daughter, Mary, Churchill's struggle to convince FDR that the United States must join the Allied effort is quite suspenseful, though even the most casual of history readers knows the outcome. Even better than getting a glimpse into Churchill's world, and even more affecting is seeing how the bombings affected English people of all classes. Larson somehow manages to show both the horror and the humor, as well as the absurd, as when one of the leaders of the Nazi party, Rudolf Hess, gets a wild hair and decides to fly to Scotland to negotiate a peace -- the farthest thing from Hitler's mind, and much to his extreme displeasure. Entertaining and educational. Highly recommended. Especially the audiobook version.

2. Who Was Davy Crockett? - Gail Herman, Nonfiction. First of all, *don't* call him Davy. Call him David, because that was what Mr. Crockett preferred to be called. Gail Herman leads young readers through David Crockett's colorful frontier life to his tragic end at the Alamo then his leap into immortality via tall tales and the 1950s Disney television show. The illustrations by Robert Squier add to the vividness of the narrative.

3. Who Was Benedict Arnold? - James Buckley. Nonfiction. Benedict Arnold reminds me of the old Animals classic with the refrain: I'm just a soul whose intentions  are good/ Oh Lord! Please don't let me be misunderstood! Buckley plunges right in, with Arnold fleeing for his life, as the Americans, who have learned about him selling secrets to the British are hot on his heels. Then Buckley steps back to the beginning of Arnold's life, fixing a steely eye on our most infamous traitor. He acknowledges that Arnold had some good traits, but he was also reckless, dishonest, petulant, and ambitious right from the very start. I can't remember any other Who Was...? book that adopted such a stern tone towards its subject, and rightfully so. Again, the illustrations really pump up the drama.

That's the first half of May. Coming up in the second half: The Hate U Give, Shrill, The River of Doubt, and The Witches are Coming. I can't help it; I am so impressed with my bookworm self.