In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
On November 15, 1959, in the prairie town of Halcomb, Kansas, four blasts of a shotgun took six lives, four instantly with the murder of the Clutter family and two more five years later, on April 14, 1965, with the eventual capture and hanging of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. In between, Truman Capote details the lives of all involved and gives the reader a strong sense of the viciousness of the crime and of the fate that led to the murderers arrest. In Cold Blood took Truman Capote six years (aided by his childhood friend and research assistant, Harper Lee, (author of To Kill a Mockingbird) of intense research to write. The book has spawned an entire genre of creative non-fiction and literary journalism, saturated with details. It reads like a novel with a plot line, vivid scenes, great characterization and the presence of the characters thoughts and dialogues including those of the Clutter family. Since 8,000 pages of research were compiled, the book is a carefully edited selection of facts and descriptions.
Laurie Aitken, Islip Public Library
An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser
Part travelogue, part memoir, An Italian Affair is Fraser's honest, intimate narrative of her journey from the shattering effects of a divorce towards a fully recovered sense of her emotional and physical self. When her husband leaves her for his high school sweetheart, a devastated Laura travels to Italy and the island of Ischia where she meets "M," an aesthetics professor from Paris. What begins as a casual, vacation rendezvous becomes a transatlantic affair in exotic locations like Marrakech, Lago Maggiore, Stromboli, London and San Francisco. A deliciously romantic story, made even more captivating by the fact that Ms. Fraser lived it.
Grace O'Connor ,West Islip Public Library
The Cat Who Went to Paris by Peter Gethers
Peter Gethers thought that he hated cats, until the day that a floppy eared Scottish Fold kitten came into his life via his girlfriend. The girlfriend went, but the cat stayed and was dubbed Norton. It wasn't long before Norton was going everywhere with Peter, including on dates and to Paris. Peter even bought a house for Norton in Sag Harbor, which resulted in Peter's relationship with his current girlfriend Janis. Norton went on to meet Harrison Ford and dine with Roman Polanski. Even people who swore to either hate cats or be allergic, discovered that, with Norton, the old rules simply did not apply. Norton even won over Peter's father, a devoted dog lover, which was not an easy task. In Peter's father's dying days from lung cancer, Norton did not leave his side and seemed to sense the man's pain. Norton's humanity influenced everyone around him, shaping the nature and quality of their lives. Told in first person narration, this book would appeal to animal lovers, as well as travel book fans.
Ilana Beckerman ,West Babylon Public Library
A Cat Abroad: The Further Adventures of Norton, The Cat Who Went to Paris, and His Human by Peter Gethers
In this second installment of Norton's travels, Peter, Janis and Norton decide to live in the south of France for a year abroad. However, before they can leave, Norton and Peter must complete a publicity tour of America for the book The Cat Who Went to Paris. Norton, ever the performer, seems to know exactly what is expected of him and which TV camera to turn and face. Norton becomes so popular, that, by celebrities, restaurants and hotels, Norton's company is much preferred over that of Peter's. At Spago's, Wolfgang Puck makes Norton his own Pounce Pizza, which, of course, he dines on while sitting on a chair at the table. While abroad, Norton amazes and endears himself to the residents of Provence. He also becomes an expert on fine French products, turning his nose up at spoiled chocolate ice cream in Paris and Italian sardines. The story concludes, when Norton, Peter and Janis return to America, but, once again, Norton has changed the way Peter and others want to lead their lives and what matters most to them. Told in first person narration, this book would appeal to animal lovers, as well as travel book fans.
Ilana Beckerman, West Babylon Public Library
The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw
Linda Greenlaw, captain of a swordfish fishing boat, gives up offshore fishing and returns home to a tiny island off the coast of Maine. She takes up lobstering and her book chronicles one year in the life of a lobsterman interspersed with tales of island life. As you learn everything there is to know about lobsters, you become acquainted with the characters that make up the population of 40 year round islanders. Those who love Maine, those who yearn for a simpler life, and those who love lobster will enjoy these tales. Highly recommended.
Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library
Confederates in the Attic : Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz
Confederates in the Attic is an account of Tony Horwitz's journey through ten states as he delves into the world of Confederate reenactments. The "hardcore" reenactors prefer to be called "historical interpreters". They starve themselves to appear like weakened soldiers, retreat from soap and water for days and eat vittles 1860's style. Truth is definitely stranger as Horwitz tries his best to fit in with these eccentric characters. Through his travels, Horwitz sheds light on Confederate flag adoration and the fixation on all things "Dixie" so mysterious to the Yankee. If you love Civil War history or exploring exotic cultures, Horwitz may be just the writer for you.
Karen Baudouin, Half Hollow Hills Library
A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle
This delightfully readable month-by-month account takes the reader into the lives of Peter and wife Jenny as they restore a centuries-old farmhouse in the foothills of the Luberon, that picturesque mountain region in the south of France. The Mayles continued to live in their Provencal home until the mid-nineties, the book having become an international bestseller and engendering a flood of restoration, new home building, and tourist traffic (often involving a stop to see the Mayles residence) when they found they needed a breather and returned to England for a few years. Now back in Provence, and having sold their original home, they live quietly (or so they hope) on the other side of the mountain, still true to their dream of living in Provence. Just as Provence seduced him, Mayle seduces the reader with his tales of the charms and frustrations he encountered during that first year: coping with the mistral, the turbulent wind that sweeps into the region from time to time and dealing with the procrastination of local plumbers and masons are balanced by his delight in his friendships with his colorful neighbors and the generous local merchants. In savory vignettes, we join Mayle as he delves into local history, goes on wine searches, plays a game of boules with the locals, and meets up with boar and truffle hunters and other crusty characters. Mayle's non-fiction account of his life in Provence is anecdotal and not plot-driven, except for the suspense of wondering when the workmen will finish. Toward the end of the book and the end of the year, he and his wife come up with the clever idea of inviting them all with their families to a holiday party on site, ensuring completion, they hope. With humor, charm, and understanding, Mayle sets the life of a luscious countryside before his readers. Like the bounty of Provence, his writing is easy to digest.
Arlene Leventhal, Half Hollow Hills Library
The Hot Zone by Robert Preston
The Hot Zone is a fast-paced thrill of a read. In the fall of 1989 a rare form of Ebola virus broke out in a primate quarantine unit in Reston, Virginia. When monkeys began dying off at an alarming rate, and with horrifying symptoms, a biohazard SWAT team was recruited to kill the remaining monkeys and retrieve tissue samples, while containing the virus in the process. Sounds like another new thriller by Michael Crichton, but this story is true. The book opens with a disturbingly graphic description of a human body in "meltdown" after being invaded by a filovirus. Essentially, the body liquefies, spilling out billions of copies of the deadly virus, which have the potential to trigger an explosive chain of lethal transmissions. So far, only micro-outbreaks have occurred, but, the author convincingly argues, the potential exists for worldwide catastrophe. As the tropical wildernesses of the world are destroyed, previously unknown viruses that have lived undetected for eons are entering human populations. AIDS is part of this pattern, and the implications for the future of the human species are terrifying. This is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction, simply because it seems too fantastic, and far too terrifying, to be true. As Stephen King said after reading it: "it keeps getting worse." From him, this was a compliment.
Kathleen L. Scheibel, South Country Library
The Lives of the Muses by Francine Prose
This book, the first work of non-fiction by the author, tells the story of nine artists and the muses who inspired them. Subjects range from HesterThrale and Samuel Johnson to Lee Miller and photographer Man Ray to Yoko Ono and John Lennon. In most cases the lives of the muses were as interesting as the lives of the artists they inspired. In many cases, the muses were talented artists in their own right, such as the photographer Lee Miler or the dancer Susan Farrell. This was a fun book to read as it exposed the peccadilloes of many well-known historical artists. One reviewer says that "to read Prose's biographical skits is to marvel at the number of creative and consensual relationships that would in our day, be criminalized like Carroll's, medicated like Johnson's, or lamented like Nietzsche's for sexual abstinence." The book's inspiration was a grant from the New York Public Library that allowed the author to research obsessive love, a topic about which she has written much in her fiction. The author in an interview in Book magazine says that the nine tales she tells "are all love stories," but that she "was trying to broaden the narrow definition of love. Everyone thinks they know what the artist-muse relationship is, but I didn't. It seemed very mysterious to me." In this book, Francine Prose wanted to "probe the mystery of inspiration, not to solve it once and for all."
Bruce Silverstein - Patchogue-Medford Library
Every Breath You Take by Ann Rule
In this true story, Ann Rule, at the request of the victim herself, untangles a mass of lies that culminates in the brutal murder of Sheila Bellush in her home in the presence of her 2-year old quadruplets. Rule has written a straightforward, non-sensational account of Sheila's murder, the mind-boggling series of events preceding it and the nail-biting sequence of twists and turns in the investigation of the crime and the eventual prosecution of her ex-husband.
Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library
Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
Galileo's Daughter is a mixture of science, family and religious devotions of the 17th century. The book centers on the surviving correspondence between Suor Maria Celeste (Virginia before her vows), Galileo's oldest child, and her father, the great Galileo. Maria Celeste and her sister have been confined to the convent of San Matteo since they were 13 and 12, respectively. The first part of the book is more biographical of Galileo's life, including the author's well-researched theories on what motivated Galileo and his life aspirations. The text gives one a clearer understanding of how families in 17th century Italy took on responsibilities and made choices for careers, housing, etc., with the care of the family a priority in these decisions. Life in the 17th century, relationships between family, and everyday struggles are really not that different from what many are doing today.
Janet Mancuso-Rucker, Babylon Public Library
Longitude: the True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dave Sobel
Longitude was originally conceived in a magazine article. The article was so well received Dava decided to expand on her research and published her book in 1996. It chronicles the race to find a reliable answer to mystery of longitude which scientists puzzled over as early as 1514. In the chapter "The Sea Before Time" Dava thrillingly depicts how the Scilly Islands "became unmarked tombstones for two thousand ..troops," for Admiral Shovell's troops in 1707, only 20 miles off the coast of England. This disaster inspired Parliament to offer the sum of L20,000 ( approximately $2,000,000 today) for a way to fix longitude within 1 degree. The unlikely hero was a humble clockmaker named John Harrison who devoted most of his adult life to solving this mathematical problem by developing reliable clocks. There was a great rivalry between the "clockmakers" and the astronomers who felt the only way to chart longitude was to study the skies. In 1760 when Harrison, a commoner, perfected the exquisite "H 4" he deserved the award, but the Astronomer-Royal Nevil Maskelyne sabotaged his cause for 15 more years. Dava Sobel creates suspense retelling the race for the reward and the political intrigue that complicated and delayed the acceptance of a lifesaving invention.
Peg McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library
Public Enemies by John Walsh with Philip Lerman
Subtitled "The host of America's most wanted targets the nation's most notorious criminals" the book chronicles eight public enemies, their crimes, and, in some cases, their capture and punishment. Written in Walsh's customary tough-guy style, the text can be intensely emotional. The background of the TV show and how it is organized and the lengths to which the staff goes in order to project the inhumanity and the need for the capture of these dangers to society forms an interesting contrast to the horror of the crimes committed. The latter remains in the mind and is hard to displace. The driving force behind the effort and tenacity - the abduction and murder of John Walsh's son 20 years ago - "You are the one who set me on this path. And so it is you, not I, who has saved all these little boys and girls."
Marie T. Horney - Cold Spring Harbor Library
No mercy: the host of America's Most Wanted targets the nation's most notorious criminals by John Walsh (with Philip Lerman)
This book chronicles eight public enemies, their crimes and, in some cases, their capture and their punishment. The eight public enemies include serial child molester, Kyle Bell, caught, escaped, and caught again through the TV program. The background of the TV show and how it is organized and the lengths to which the staff goes in order to project the inhumanity and need for the capture of these dangers to society forms an interesting contrast to the horror of the crimes committed. Although in the "true crime" section," the personal nature of this book seems to put it in a special corner. Other true crime would be the works of Anne Rule, Thomas Cook, Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Bad Blood by Don Davis.
Marie T. Horney - Cold Spring Harbor Library
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
The incredible story of the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary includes the tale of the correspondence and friendship between Dr. W.C. Minor and Professor James Murray. Professor Murray, editor of the OED, sent out a call for help to "men of letters" to provide literary quotations of the words that would appear in the dictionary. One "helper," a contributor of more than 10,000 entries, was an expatriate American and Civil War veteran, Dr. W. C. Minor, who was confined at the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. That Dr. Minor and Professor Murray maintained an affiliation and friendship over many years is more the stuff of novels than of a well-researched history of the OED. The centerpiece of the book, however, is not the somewhat lurid tale of Minor and Murray but the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. The lexicographical details will intrigue all lovers of the English language.
Michelle Epstein, Northport-East Northport Library
The Poet And The Murderer: A True Story Of Literary Crime And The Art Of Forgery by Simon Worral
The subtitle says it all: Simon Worrall, a journalist who has been published in The New Yorker and The Paris Review, tells the tragic story of Mark Hofmann, master forger, twisted genius and murderer. Raised a Mormon, Hofmann became a respected dealer in historical documents. Perhaps motivated by greed, perhaps already in the grip of madness, Hofmann began to forge documents, including a poem which purported to be an as yet undiscovered work by Emily Dickinson. Central to Worrall's account, this poem fooled academia, auction houses and other experts for a long while. As his schemes were discovered, Hofmann plotted murders to conceal his crimes and to buy himself time. Although not as lurid as many in the genre, this book might appeal to the reader of "true crime." It will, of course, appeal to people interested in forgery, and to those fascinated by the auction world. Lovers of literary matters, and Emily Dickinson in particular, will find the depiction of her writing life compelling. As the Mormon Church was the target of Hofmann's most malicious efforts, it would be unwise to recommend this work to a believing Mormon.
Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library
