Next book

THE UNIT

MY LIFE FIGHTING TERRORISTS AS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST SECRET MILITARY OPERATIVES

The compelling story of an unlikely hero in the war on terror.

A memoir from a member of “the military’s most secret intelligence/special operations unit.”

Gamal (a pseudonym) was born in Egypt to a family whose father, although struggling to make ends meet, put four children through college. As a child, the author grew up detesting the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian extremists who exerted great influence. As he was studying law, a professor explained that he would never practice what he was learning because there was no rule of law in Egypt. Brilliant but frustrated, Gamal moved to the U.S. in 1991 at age 20, with no job and speaking no English. Helped (and sometimes exploited) by fellow Egyptians, he passed three years working menial jobs but eventually finding success, marriage, and a family. In 1994, feeling he owed a debt to his chosen country, he joined the Army. Hardworking and tough, Gamal breezed through training, during which he encountered both encouragement and racism. He volunteered for a force so secret that he can only refer to it as “the unit.” The author describes it as similar to special forces, employing the same murderous training, teamwork, daring, and firepower, but with additional emphasis on surveillance and intelligence gathering. Most of the book recounts missions in the Middle East and Africa, and the text, some of it redacted, features plenty of fireworks, including an encounter when Gamal was shot and almost died. Fiercely patriotic despite regularly encountering prejudice, the author does not hesitate to point out the catastrophic consequences of Americans’ ignorance of other cultures. For example, despite the military’s being desperately short of personnel who can speak languages other than English, it dismissed hundreds with those skills under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy (in effect from 1994 to 2011). Some may scoff at the term diversity, but Gamal clearly shows how its absence regularly hobbles military missions.

The compelling story of an unlikely hero in the war on terror.

Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024

ISBN: 9781250278173

Page Count: 304

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024

Next book

WAR

An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.

Documenting perilous times.

In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”

An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024

ISBN: 9781668052273

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 88


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller

Next book

TANQUERAY

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 88


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller

A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.

Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

Pub Date: July 12, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022

Close Quickview