Category Archives: nonfiction

Tidal Wave, by Adam Makos*****

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“You can handle more than you think you can.”

Adam Makos is the author of Spearhead, which is one of the most engaging, well researched and written, readable military history books I’ve ever read. It came out in 2019, and I’ve been watching for his next book ever since. It’s here! Tidal Wave is the sort of story that, if it were published as historical fiction, would be panned by many as simply unbelievable. Where’s the credibility? But it did happen, and this is not fiction.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the review copy. This book will be available to the public November 3, 2026.

We start with an elite group of pilots from the U.S. Air Force. It’s the autumn of 1943, and the boys—and back then, they were all boys and young men—have been sent to North Africa on a top secret mission. They are to fly nonstop to Romania, which is an Axis nation, also known as “Hitler’s Gas Station” for its large-scale oil refineries, and they are to bomb the living hell out of those refineries in broad daylight at low altitude, to avoid radar detection and diminish civilian casualties. It’s massively dangerous; some might call it a suicide mission. But if successful, it will deal a massive blow to the Nazi war machine.

“If not one bomber returns tomorrow, but that target is wiped out, the mission will still be a success.”

Meanwhile, Romanians are chafing under Nazi rule. Nobody there volunteered for this; the Nazis came in and announced they were taking all the oil, and they would pay for it at below market prices. The Nazis were tolerated because they promised to return territory that was usurped by the Soviet Union at the conclusion of World War I.

Add to this story a royal family that determines to covertly help the American pilots that have been shot down over their country, and for good measure, sprinkle it with local orphans, and you have—in author Makos’s capable hands—one hell of a war story. The captured pilots make a break for it, and their struggle, along with the danger they face, makes this story a nail-biter even though we know how it’s going to turn out, at least in large measure.

Those that sigh and sit back after seeing the genre—military history—should know that this reads like narrative nonfiction. I was reading a couple of pretty good novels alternately with this one, but this is the one that kept me awake late at night, because I had to know who made it and who did not. Add into this the twist at the end regarding the Romanian princess and the enemy pilot, and you have a matchless story.

Highly recommended to all.

Zenith Man, by McCracken Poston, Jr. *****

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Zenith Man is a memoir written by attorney McCracken Poston, Jr. about his most interesting case. Alvin Ridley, his neighbor, had been accused of imprisoning, then murdering his wife. Poston was sure that Ridley had done no such thing, but the tiny Georgia town of Ringgold was swift to rush to judgment, and it took him nearly every minute of every day for nearly a year to research, then try his case.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the review copy. This book was originally published in 2024, but this new version with an updated epilogue is available to the public now.

Ridley made his living as a television sales and repair man during the late 1900s, thus the title. His wife, Virginia, died, and his flat affect when he called the hospital to tell them as much set off all sorts of alarms, aided by Virginia’s sister, who had never cared for Ridley. When it came down to it, Ridley just wasn’t cut out the way that others in Ringgold were, and that made him difficult to defend. Poston comments, “I had put my all into helping the weirdest man in town.”

For starters, the man smelled dreadful; he hadn’t bathed or washed his clothes in at least a year. The judge had to have the courtroom fumigated after just a couple of days of the trial. (The case was then moved to a larger courtroom, one with windows!) He didn’t answer questions the way that others would. It took a solid week for just to get him to let Poston in the house so that he could see where Virginia had died; but once he did, he was even surer that Ridley was an innocent man.

(The promotional blurb from this book claims that this story resembles a nonfiction version of a John Grisham novel; it also claims to hold elements of “Rain Man” and Just Mercy. Overblown claims like these are a pet peeve of mine, and yet ultimately, I found myself occasionally wanting to call the defendant Alvin Radley, and I realized that this is because Ridley did, in fact, slightly remind me of Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.)

I won’t go into further detail about the case itself, as Poston has already done a fine job of that, but I will say that this memoir reads a lot like narrative nonfiction. I was deeply absorbed, and I found myself putting books by favorite authors aside until I could finish this one.

Highly recommended!

Joan Crawford: A Woman’s Face, by Scott Eyman*****

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Author Scott Eyman is the king of the old-school movie star biography. In earlier years, he has written about John Wayne; Charlie Chaplin; and about the friendship between Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda, among others. When I saw that he’d written a biography about Joan Crawford, I was ready to read it, even though my interest in this actress would not ordinarily extend to the nearly 500 pages he spends on her; I already knew that when Eyman writes a biography, it will usually be lengthy, and not a single word will be wasted.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the invitation to read and review; this book is for sale now.

Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur in a tiny town in Oklahoma. Her date of birth is uncertain, but is guessed to be in 1905. In later years, she would remember her childhood as joyless; her mother was ready to cut the apron strings while Lucille was still a teen. California beckoned, and Lucille—soon to become Joan—went. Director Joseph Mankiewitz remembered her as being “the definitive star from the advent of sound through the war.” Crawford was devoid of diva behavior, and possessed of a matchless work ethic. There is, of course, far too much to detail in this review, but this biography is full of choice anecdotes I’ve never seen before, and here’s a sample, which tells of a magic moment between Crawford and actor Robert Montgomery, with whom she was playing a love scene:

“When Montgomery slid his tongue into her mouth, Crawford first bit down on his tongue, then inquired sweetly about Montgomery’s wife: ‘How is dear Betty and when is the baby due?’”

I was curious about Crawford’s relationship with actress Bette Davis, who is one of my favorites of that generation. After reading what Eyman has to say, I must conclude that, while Davis was more entertaining to watch on the screen, Crawford was a better person.

In 1978, one of Crawford’s adopted daughters wrote a scathing tell-all book titled Mommie Dearest. I read it, and I am ashamed to admit that I believed it. Such naivete, my assuming that if it wasn’t true, it wouldn’t have found a publisher! Eyman has convinced me that the whole thing is a pack of vicious lies. Go figure!

For me, the secret to appreciating one of this author’s epic biographies is not to rush, and so I took my time with it, and I’m terribly late. Nonetheless, I recommend this book to you wholeheartedly if you enjoy this genre. The research is thorough and above reproach, and the writing is outstanding.

Ain’t Nobody’s Fool, by Martha Ackmann****

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Note: I ran this post in January of this year; under the circumstances, I thought I’d run it again.

“People don’t come to see me be me. They come to see me be them.”

Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: the Life and Times of Dolly Parton, by Martha Ackman, is a fine biography of one of America’s most iconic musicians. My thanks go to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Dolly began singing as a child, first informally, as children do, but she also understood very early on that this would be her life’s work. Most of her family was musically inclined, but she had a greater talent and a greater need to use it. She also had the right personality for the job; though her early years were filled with deprivation—the song “Coat of Many Colors” does actually describe an early childhood experience that marked her—she was also born with a sunny outlook and determination. For example, when she met the love of her life, Carl Dean, just as she was beginning to be heard on the local radio, she told him that though she loved him, she could not become a traditional wife to him. She would not have supper waiting when he finished work. She would not produce a houseful of children. These are the things that would prevent her from realizing her burning ambition. They were a trap. And happily, Carl—a private man that didn’t listen to country music so much as Led Zeppelin—told her that was just fine with him. He wasn’t going to tag along everywhere and be Mr. Dolly Parton, but they would make it work. And they did.

Fans of Dolly’s might have wondered, as I did, whether we would learn more about the rather mysterious Carl when reading this biography. We will not, apart from seeing Dolly’s philosophy where her marriage was concerned. Though in every other respect she has been open and accessible to the public, Dolly has followed her mother’s advice, that she should find just one thing about her life that she would not share with others, but keep for herself. For Dolly, that’s Carl. The man died last year, but she still keeps Carl, and her memories of their sixty years of marriage, to herself. And I don’t see how we can complain.

Whenever I read a galley, I highlight passages that I think might be suitable to include as quotes in my review. In this case, I highlighted 60! I can’t use them all, but this should give the reader a clue as to how readable this lovely biography is, and how saturated with quotes from Dolly, and from those that know and love her. From her early, sometimes tumultuous years working for and with Porter Wagoner, to the actors that she worked with in movies such as 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, to her own family members, it’s rich. Another fun fact: by doing some of her recordings in Tennessee, and by creating the massive theme park, Dollywood, she has come close to doubling the GDP of the state of Tennessee!

Many people may not be aware of Dolly’s intellect and savvy business skills. I have read so many musical memoirs and biographies of hugely talented, successful musicians that trusted others to take care of their business matters and accounting, only to discover too late that they’d been robbed. Perhaps my favorite anecdote in this biography is where early on, when she was only starting to be recognized, Colonel Parker, the man that ran Elvis’s career and gutted his finances, came to Dolly to express interest in one of her songs. Elvis wanted to sing “Islands in the Stream.” But he told her sweetly, Elvis is accustomed to receiving the publishing rights to any song he performs. And Dolly, also responding sweetly, told him how sorry she was, but she just didn’t believe in parting with her catalog. Many years later, after she and Kenny Rogers had gone more than platinum with that same song, she said that that song alone made her more than enough money to buy Graceland, at least hypothetically!

Serious fans and researchers will do well to augment their knowledge by reading at least one other biography, or Dolly’s own autobiography, My Life. Though author Ackman has a congenial writing style and has read a great deal about her subject, she has apparently never interviewed Parton herself. I combed through the documentation at the end of the book and found that out of the hundreds of end notes, there are just five references to a couple of interviews by the author with friends and family of Dolly’s. Sources for the book’s early chapters are sparse and not well integrated, relying almost exclusively on the autobiography.

Nevertheless, this is a greatly enjoyable read. I played Dolly’s music as I read, and though I am finished with it and am reading other things now, I still carry Dolly around with me.Serious fans and researchers will do well to augment their knowledge by reading at least one other biography, or Dolly’s own autobiography, My Life. Though author Ackman has a congenial writing style and has read a great deal about her subject, she has apparently never interviewed Parton herself. I combed through the documentation at the end of the book and found that out of the hundreds of end notes, there are just five references to a couple of interviews by the author with friends and family of Dolly’s. Sources for the book’s early chapters are sparse and not well integrated, relying almost exclusively on the autobiography.

Nevertheless, this is a greatly enjoyable read. I played Dolly’s music as I read, and though I am finished with it and am reading other things now, I still carry Dolly around with me.

How to Be Okay When Nothing is Okay, by Jenny Lawson****

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Jenny Lawson is queen of the mental health memoir. I’ve read her for years and appreciated her candor, wit, and willingness to shine a light on the kinds of experiences that historically, others have mostly kept mum about. Her latest book, How to Be Okay When Nothing is Okay, is not her strongest work, but this says more about how remarkable her earlier books are than anything detrimental about this one.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the review copy.

I first encountered Lawson through her blog over a decade ago when she wrote about gifting her husband with a huge metal chicken sculpture. There’s something truly cleansing about laughter, not the gentle or wry type, but the gut-busting type that leaves us gasping for breath. I encountered this on subsequent occasions when she wrote in her quirky, sometimes bizarre way that was, at the same time, absolutely relatable and crystal clear. And I have to confess that I missed that quality this time around.

Instead, Lawson has written practical suggestions, ones that she has utilized herself, to help her get past stressful situations in which her mental health has threatened to melt her down. And in that sense, this book is more of a self-help book and perhaps less of a memoir. It may be tremendously useful to others encountering similar situations. I’ve been there; a great many others have, too. But right now, my own mental health is fine, and perhaps that accounts for some of the disconnect I experienced in reading this one. I suspect, however, that a whole lot of people will get a whole lot of help from this slender little book.

Recommended for those in a space where they need support and ideas for getting through a difficult time or situation.

Monsters in the Archives, by Caroline Bicks*****

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Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King is a masterpiece in its own right. Author Caroline Bicks was named as the first Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine, and she is the first person to be granted access to King’s personal archives. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House for the review copy; this book is for sale now.

Bicks bases her book on five of King’s early novels: The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary, ‘Salem’s Lot, and Night Shift. Initially she was told that although King authorized this book and was willing for her to go through his archives, she must promise not to attempt to contact him or disturb him in any way. She agreed, then was given a great deal of his personal time and attention anyway. Though the book is of course primarily about King and his writing, she includes bits here and there that describe her own relationship to these stories. The result is a fluid, seamless book that appears effortless to have written, and yet must have been a massive amount of work. Her documentation is first rate, and the book itself is surprisingly brief, with not a single wasted word. Although it seems thorough, I was sorry when it ended.

I have long believed that King’s books are deeper and brainier than most scary novels, and I came away vindicated. Bicks is a Shakespeare scholar, and she had more specific insights than I did; turns out, as King confirms in one interview, that The Shining is actually Hamlet!

I had previously read that King isn’t fond of the movie versions of his most iconic works. In The Shining, poor direction transforms Jack Torrance, a tragic, pathetic figure fighting to stay sober and keep the demons at bay within himself—and losing—to a sinister slasher-type figure as portrayed by Jack Nicholson. That much is fairly obvious. His young son Danny should be portrayed as a hero, fearful though he is. But King also takes issue with the casting of Shelly Duvall, who whines and screeches at her husband in a way that King describes as a misogynistic interpretation. It’s a good point. Other books and movies are discussed as well.

There are too many fascinating margin comments, anecdotes, and explanations to recount here, but the one that has stuck with me over a month after I finished it is the note that King enclosed when he sent The Shining saying not to lose it as this was the only copy. Yikes!

When I saw that Bicks had also included some autobiographical bits, I cringed initially, thinking, oh please don’t make this about you. But the way she handles it is excellent, giving the reader some small insights into the narrator while keeping the focus primarily right where it belongs; it’s done tastefully and professionally. I learned a great deal within a small span of time, and also enjoyed it tremendously.

Highly recommended.

Vengeance, by Tom Clavin***

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Tom Clavin is the co-author of Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier. I learned a great deal from that book, and decided that I was going to read everything this author writes. Although he does a creditable reporting job with his new book, Vengeance, which details the last battles of Custer, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull, it lacks the luster of his Boone biography. Nevertheless, my thanks go to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the review copies. This book is available to purchase now.

My motivation in reading this book was in knowing that for once, Custer wouldn’t defeat the Native forces he sought to annihilate. Had I thought a little harder, I would have realized that the American Indians never came out on top in the long run, and that a hard-fought battle in which Custer is killed—primarily through his own stupidity—was not going to end well for anybody. Nevertheless, I came away feeling that this story was both duller and also more depressing than was necessary.

The facts that are used here, as well as the documentation for them, are beyond reproach. The point of view, however, leans more toward the U.S. Army than the tribes and their leaders. It would have been nice to have present day Native historians weigh in and be heard more. Also, when a hard, horrible tale must be told, a truly skilled author can find ways to break up the horror. My sense is that Clavin didn’t really try.

Johnny Heller narrated the audio version, and he did a fine job of it. Without his narrative, I might not have finished it.

For those looking for the basic facts of this conflict and its aftermath, Vengeance will serve well. For those in search of a general historical read, I’d look elsewhere.

The Free and the Dead, by Jamie Holmes

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Author Jamie Holmes has written a history of the Seminole Wars, and since I had long intended to read a bit more about the Seminole tribe, I dove in. My thanks go to NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy; this book is for sale now.

Generally speaking, reading about the depredations of the U.S. and local governments upon Native tribes is demoralizing, depressing, and on occasion, guilt-inducing. After a certain amount of it, I turned ostrich and decided I wouldn’t do it anymore. But I was aware that of all the tribes in what is now the U.S.A., the Seminoles were the only ones that had never been entirely dislodged from their original homes. This is what made me want to read this particular history, the knowledge that in the end, the Seminoles would not be completely vanquished.

The operative word there is “completely.” Yikes! There’s still plenty of gore, death, and heartbreak, as I would have recognized from the title had I been more attentive. Here’s one of the more searing samples, which deals with the death of a Seminole leader named Osceola following the conclusion of the war:

“Before he passed, he asked the physician a favor. He wished to be buried in the Florida Territory, at a site where his bones would not be disturbed. The surgeon, finding himself alone with the body, cut off Osceola’s head as a personal keepsake, took it home, and embalmed it. Later, the doctor would hang the head on his children’s bedstead, as punishment for misbehaving.”

Holmes does find ways to break up the horror occasionally with irony and humor, usually at the expense of the tribe’s would-be conquerors, but at the same time, he’s writing nonfiction, and he can’t make this thing any prettier than the truth. A whole lot of Seminoles died, either from battle, disease—so much disease! —or while imprisoned. The consolation, if there can be any, is in knowing that they took a whole lot of U.S. fighters with them. The U.S. government, led by President Andrew Jackson, whom I believe is remembered far more positively than is deserved, spent a wildly disproportionate amount of its funds while attempting to dislodge the tribes, but the Seminoles had a way of vanishing into the Everglades, a place they knew infinitely better than the invaders. And this is one more thing I appreciate about Holmes’s narrative: he tells the stories of individual Seminole leaders, and includes as much information about Natives as he does about the Caucasian interlopers.

This work was published last winter, so I am terribly late with my review; I had to take it in small amounts in order to get through it. However, it is very well researched and its documentation is excellent, and Holmes is a writer of formidable ability. To those with the fortitude and interest, this book is highly recommended.

True Crime, by Patricia Cornwell*****

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Legendary mystery writer Patricia Cornwell didn’t intend to write a memoir, but when someone decided to put her life’s story on television, she realized that if she didn’t write it, they’d make it up as they went. What began as a treatment for television writers to use as a guide morphed into a full-length book, and this is a perfect example of what an overachiever Cornwell has become.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Cornwell grew up in Miami, but moved with her mother to Montreat, North Carolina following her parents’ separation when she was five years old. It’s a miracle that anyone whose childhood was so riddled with trauma could grow up and pass for normal, let alone accomplish the things that she has done. First, her father had a breakdown, kidnapped her and her brothers, and then tried to hand them off—permanently—to his law partner. Her mother was a hot mess most of the time, and so there were periods when there was no food prepared, and she and her brothers made do by scrounging raw hamburger out of the freezer and eating it raw! Then there was the time her mom went into a fugue state and began systematically burning all of the children’s clothing—and there was no money to replace it with. Neglected children are often a lightning rod that attracts bad actors, and so the local security cop began molesting her—up until he was caught by her older brother, who put a stop to it. And the list goes on.

Nobody walks away from such experiences unscarred, but since Cornell—who was then Patsy Daniels—was a good kid, she internalized all of it, aided by a dreadful first grade teacher that told her that her constant talking in class was probably why her father had left! (As a teacher, this reviewer wants to find that person and have her license pulled, although she is probably gone from this earth by now.) Patsy gained control of her life—sort of—by developing eating disorders. She was hospitalized, but medical science actually didn’t know what to do about anorexia or bulimia, and after months in the institution with no improvement whatever, she gave up and went home. The problem vanished many years later when other aspects of her life changed.

Her love of writing and her feverish work ethic are what has made her such a success (along with great intelligence, though she doesn’t say as much.) She rode with cops and served as a volunteer in order to gain insights into that world; she went to Quantico and studied profiling; and of course, worked in the medical examiner’s office so that she could legitimately view autopsies, which are of course not open to the public. Anything she needed to learn, she found a way to do, leaving no stone unturned. She was aided and mentored by what seems to me an unlikely cast of friends and surrogate parents, including Senator Orin Hatch, Ruth and Billy Graham (mostly Ruth,) and President H.W. Bush.

The thing I appreciate about this memoir, apart from its outstanding prose and organization, is Cornwell’s willingness to disclose personal information. Sometimes, when someone is deeply private but finds herself writing a memoir anyway, she will stay on the surface and give up as little of herself as possible. Such memoirs are frustrating to read and for those that pay money for the privilege, a bit of a cheat. But once Cornwell decided to do this thing, she really did it right. And while, on the one hand, there’s a certain amount of namedropping and braggadocio, even that aspect of it is interesting; given everything she went through to arrive at the station she’s gained in life, one can hardly begrudge her.

For those that love her books, and also for those that simply enjoy a well written memoir, this book is highly recommended.

Opera Wars, by Caitlin Vincent****

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Caitlin Vincent is a former opera singer and company owner, and so she’s in a good position to talk about its controversies. This compact little book carries a wealth of information for the interested layman. My thanks go to NetGalley and Scribner for the review copy; this book is for sale now.

Much of the book discusses, as advertised, the controversies surrounding opera. How much license can its companies, directors, etc. take with the original versions of the most canonical of operas? What if, instead of taking place in the expected setting, one was to stage the opera in outer space, or in a future world, or, or, or…? There’s no law that says it can’t be done, and sometimes it is. Yet those that take such liberties have to face the ravening hoards that take exception to such variations.

What about the new operas that aren’t famous yet? Remember, every opera was new at one point.

But the greatest controversy of all is that of race. Is it acceptable for a Caucasian singer to play Madame Butterfly, for example? Opera has long been the bastion of white musicians, and though there’s been a bit of progress, the number of performers of color is still quite small. So, if this part should be sung by an Asian woman, must she be Japanese, or Japanese-American? What if a Filipino woman wants the part and can sing it well? And then the other question: may performers of color play parts that traditionally go to white singers? A Japanese-American soprano is quoted as saying that while she is grateful for the number of times she’s been cast in that opera, at some point in her life she’d like to play a role other than Madame Butterfly!

At the tender age of 18, this reviewer wanted to become an opera singer; after less than two years in college I changed my mind. Reading this book made me thank my lucky stars that I did. Vincent explains exactly what is required of anyone that wants to pursue the dream, and though others had told me that it’s a difficult road made still more difficult when one doesn’t have financial backing or the right contacts, I had no idea just how grueling the path can be. I might have taken to the bath with a package of shiny razor blades had I gone down that road! Constant rejection; sexual harassment, even in the Me-Too era; poverty; lack of sleep from working day jobs, rehearsing and training, auditioning, and preparing to perform, should one be cast in even a tiny role are but a few of the demands this life exacts. Plane tickets to audition; plane tickets to reach the performance venue, sometimes overseas; suitable clothes for auditions; costly vocal coaching; these are among the expenses the performers are expected to meet, in addition to the ordinary expenses of room and board, transportation, and utilities.

And yet, are the artists exploited? Vincent points out that most opera companies operate on a shoestring, with the less famous ones closing at alarming rates. It’s not that someone at the top is leaching off the members of the company; in most cases, nobody is making much money. While a few principal artists are well paid and well known, those are the rare exceptions.

The narrative flows beautifully, and the hard facts are broken up with occasional humorous anecdotes.

Those interested in the world of opera but lacking much knowledge will benefit from the wealth of information packed into a relatively brief space here; the book is just over 300 pages, but nearly 40% of that is endnotes! I recommend this little gem to all that are curious.