An intense focus on the human side of war but marred by weak writing and unoriginal characters.
Pula’s (With Courage and Honor, 2010, etc.) first foray into fiction chronicles the lives of a group of World War II bombers in the Air Force.
The first volume in a series, the novel explores the early military careers of two aspiring pilots. The story opens as quiet but brilliant 2nd Lt. Matthew Moore, part Native American, is accosted by a group of white officers who have learned that he is engaged to a white woman. Though gigantic in stature, gentle Matt is severely wounded by a knife in the struggle; he’s saved from death by fellow pilot-in-training 1st Lt. Jack Harrington, who runs off the racist mob and ensures Matt receives proper treatment at the base hospital. The two become fast friends and help each other train to fly the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. After only a short time, Jack is honored to become Matt’s best man, while Matt helps Jack overcome his grief after receiving a Dear John letter from his sweetheart back home. Though filled with technical details regarding the Air Force during World War II, the novel is more focused on the men preparing for battle. The author delves into the characters backstories with varying degrees of success: Results are often interesting, although certain players are reduced to stock characters. The author skillfully folds historical details into the narrative. Especially effective is a scene involving a survivor from the fall of Warsaw and the Nazi death camps. Unfortunately, the protagonists come across too sickly sweet or squeaky clean—in fact, nearly all the characters are extremely attractive, without vices and with pure motivations. Furthermore, clichéd romantic scenes involving Matt and his wife, Evelyn, feel out of place with the rest of the text. The prose can be clunky and repetitive; when introduced, each character is described by hair color, height and weight. What does shine, though, is the author’s love for her subjects. Pula makes an admirable attempt at examining how men so young dealt with the responsibility of liberating Europe and destroying Nazi Germany, despite coming from a country that was often inhospitable.
An intense focus on the human side of war but marred by weak writing and unoriginal characters.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-1935122296
Page Count: 348
Publisher: Whitehall Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.
An insider’s chronicle of a pivotal presidential campaign.
Several months into the mounting political upheaval of Donald Trump’s second term and following a wave of bestselling political exposés, most notably Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin on Joe Biden’s health and late decision to step down, former Vice President Harris offers her own account of the consequential months surrounding Biden’s withdrawal and her swift campaign for the presidency. Structured as brief chapters with countdown headers from 107 days to Election Day, the book recounts the campaign’s daily rigors: vetting a running mate, navigating back-to-back rallies, preparing for the convention and the debate with Trump, and deflecting obstacles in the form of both Trump’s camp and Biden’s faltering team. Harris aims to set the record straight on issues that have remained hotly debated. While acknowledging Biden’s advancing decline, she also highlights his foreign-policy steadiness: “His years of experience in foreign policy clearly showed….He was always focused, always commander in chief in that room.” More blame is placed on his inner circle, especially Jill Biden, whom Harris faults for pushing him beyond his limits—“the people who knew him best, should have realized that any campaign was a bridge too far.” Throughout, she highlights her own qualifications and dismisses suggestions that an open contest might have better served the party: “If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.” Facing Trump’s increasingly unhinged behavior, Harris never openly doubts her ability to confront him. Yet she doesn’t fully persuade the reader that she had the capacity to counter his dominance, suggesting instead that her defeat stemmed from a lack of time—a theme underscored by the urgency of the book’s title. If not entirely sanguine about the future, she maintains a clear-eyed view of the damage already done: “Perhaps so much damage that we will have to re-create our government…something leaner, swifter, and much more efficient.”
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781668211656
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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