There are scores of books about New York City. But Enchanted New York takes us on a deeper journey into its magical past of Freemasons, occultists and seers. Beginning with Washington’s inauguration, the book charts a real journey down Broadway and forward in time. Even though travel is discouraged rightContinue Reading
The true tale of The Imprisoned Princess proves that the rich have always been different even in the late 1600s. Indeed the poorer royals, born on both sides of the blanket, were as prone to affairs as the royals at the Court of Versailles. Some like Clara were even havingContinue Reading
World War began with a bomb. When Pearl Harbor was hit by Japanese bombs from above, it forced the United States to join both the German and the Japanese fronts. It also inspired American men, and women, to do their patriotic duty by serving in the military. Over a thousandContinue Reading
What could be more exciting than a large cruise ship on a collision course to disaster? I thought of A Night to Remember, The Poseidon Adventure, or Titanic. The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria has the potential to be an equally great movie. However, as a book, not soContinue Reading
The Stolen Letter is the fifth book in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series. The book successfully blends a cozy mystery plot, British royalty, and many paranormal elements like reincarnation and book characters that give advice. And it has more plot than a bushel of other cozy mysteries. Yet the authorContinue Reading
I have watched every season of Drag Race (even the blurry first one). However, I never fully understood the history of drag before reading Legendary Children. This book adds context to Rupaul’s Drag Race that I was completely missing. Each chapter starts with some section of the show and explainsContinue Reading
Beautiful and haunting black & white photographs show the history of Atlanta beneath its modern streets in Atlanta Underground. Atlanta began as a meeting of three major railways in an obscure spot in the South. Jobs created by those railroads brought people. But the rail lines also brought Sherman toContinue Reading
The next time you upgrade a perfectly good phone because of a rebate that is denied two months later, don’t feel bad. Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up will introduce you to much worse human errors in judgment. We celebrated when our hunter-gatherer ancestors startedContinue Reading
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Castle on Sunset is not salacious enough. When the topic is the famous Hollywood hotel, the Chateau Marmont, you expect some racy gossip. But if so, you will be sadly disappointed as most of the celebrity stories have been widely told before.Continue Reading
A Short History of Europe begins with Neanderthals and concludes with the 2016 vote by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. In between are births, deaths, court intrigue and full-blown battles. Whether you are planning to go on Jeopardy or just want to impress academics with your cocktailContinue Reading
For decades, performers have known they have made it big when they hear, It’s Showtime at the Apollo! More than just about the Apollo Theater in Harlem, this fact-filled graphic novel tells the story of African-American music in NYC from the Harlem Renaissance after WWI through the present. All theContinue Reading
“The Executive will be always increasing here, as elsewhere, till it ends in a monarchy.” –Benjamin Franklin. How to Get Rid of a President describes the true stories of how former Presidents were removed from office. Ben didn’t need to worry as there are many ways to remove an unpopularContinue Reading
The 21 Lessons for the 21st Century cover five broad areas: technology, politics, despair and hope, truth and resilience. In the 1990s, it appeared that liberalism had won its war with communism and facism. Even Russia had become, nominally at least, democratic. During the Trump and Brexit era, liberalism isContinue Reading
From its start as a dream in Mattel’s eye, this is the story of Hot Wheels written by one of the first designers. Realizing that model cars would be more fun if you could race them, Mattel had a hit with its innovative Hot Wheels cars and tracks. TheContinue Reading
Tells the true story of free African-American farmers’ struggles in early to mid-1800s. The Northwest Territories of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin were initially free states where slavery was outlawed. As the area’s population grew, slavery was replaced by a lifetime of indentured servitude for many. Told through theContinue Reading
Fourteen years, deaths, illnesses, corruption and kickbacks! Who knew a history of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge could be so interesting? It takes a family (and a lot of immigrants) to build the Brooklyn Bridge in The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York. The story beginsContinue Reading