James MacManus has written an immersive, beautiful book, “Sleep in Peace Tonight”, centered on the events leading up to the U.S. entry into WWII. MacManus chronicles the efforts of Harry Hopkins, Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt trusts Hopkins implicitly and most of Roosevelt’s staff resents it. Churchill is desperate for the US to enter the war and enlists Hopkins to advise Roosevelt to do so. Detailed accounts of meetings, drinking and wartime bombing of London truly bring this book to life. To complicate matters, Leonora Finch is assigned to drive Hopkins around. But what Leonora really wants in frontline action in the war and enlists to be a spy in France. Hopkins and Finch engage in several trysts and Hopkins finds that he loves her but her passion lies in wartime action. Hopkins travels back and forth between DC and London trying to track down Leonora as the war escalates. Latter chapters in the book chronicle Leonora’s training as a spy and when Leonora cannot be found Hopkins is mired in regret.//It is obvious that MacManus researched this topic thoroughly and the end result is a book difficult to put down. The realistic conversations, historical facts and all-too-human emotions make this book a real winner.
Reading & Reviews
I Am Malala
“I am Malala” is inspiration-filled as you learn about this wonderful story of Malala, a young and very brave girl in Pakistan. Typically women do not get educated in Malala’s country but her father was a progressive educator that believes both boys and girls should be educated. When Malala was ten, the Taliban began to attack villages that did not follow a strict Muslin lifestyle. Malala was an excellent student that loved to learn and she was not willing to give up school. When she was ten, she started a campaign to ensure girls were educated. In October 2012, she was shot while returning home from school. Two other girls were injured but the shooters wanted to kill Malala for her outspoken passion and influence. After the shooting, Malala and her family moved to Birmingham, England. ” Am Malala” is a book that reminds readers how for granted we take our freedoms. A simple day at school can be a death-defying event as Malala proved. Prepare to be inspired and ultimately hopeful as you read this interesting and detailed look into a young girl’s Pakistani life.
Good Book Alert: I Love You More
I just finished “I Love You More” by Jennifer Murphy and was guessing “who did it” to almost the bitter end. Jennifer’s debut novel introduces the reader to Picasso Lane, a 12 year-old, that finds herself in a complicated situation. Oliver, her dad, has just been murdered and Picasso’s mother (and Oliver’s wife) is the prime suspect. Soon after the murder, the police discover that Oliver actually has two other families with wives: Jewels and Bert. Chapters go back and forth between the wives and Picasso. Picasso is dealing with the trials and tribulations of mean girls at school and with watching her mother (and other wives). This is a attention-grabbing book that will all come together in the end with surprising results.
It’s the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken, and Clear
t’s the Way You Say It is a goldmine of usable information to improve your verbal and nonverbal skills. Carol A. Fleming is a speech and language pathologist who shares her techniques for voice and communication. Chapter one begins with an assessment. Chapter two covers nine vocal challenges while chapter three reviews vocal techniques. Chapters four and five review what to say coupled with nonverbal body language. Chapter six includes business communication situations. Fleming shares many client stories by discussing the initial communication issue, what she recommended and what the client did to overcome the challenge. Fleming does not offer any “quick fix” remedies, but instead gives an action plan expecting the client to practice to improve the skill.
” People easily make the leap from the sound of your voice to the nature of your personality.”
It’s the Way You Say It has so much valuable information, you will want to read this book over and over, highlight the meaningful areas and practice the activities that Fleming suggests. You can address a single issue or your entire communication pattern with this incredible resource. Buy it, use it, practice it and watch your communication skills soar!
Driving Loyalty: Turning Every Customer and Employee into a Raving Fan for Your Brand
Kirk Kazanjian does not offer a magic bullet in his book Driving Loyalty. His advice is straightforward: take care of your employees and your customers and your business will succeed. This book has a little bit for everyone. New managers will gain lots of new insight on how to reward and retain employees, while seasoned managers will learn how to implement a company mission and vision to reinforce the focus on employees and customers. The book details effective merger tactics, as well as using technology to delight customers and employees. Kazanjian also covers growth, partnership and sustainability. There really is a ton of information for a mere 272 pages!
“Never underestimate the importance of the role those on your team play in delivering on your brand promise.”
Driving Loyalty is easy to read given its vast amount of usable information and key points summary at the end of each chapter. Throughout the chapters there are tables, numbered lists and graphics to highlight the most vital ideas from each chapter. Highlight the significant concepts, test some of the ideas and implement what works for your business. I am pretty sure you will notice a change in both your employees and customers.
Getting to 50/50: How Working Parents Can Have It All
There is no “magic” formula to balancing work and family in today’s busy, modern 24/7 world. The authors of Getting to 50/50 suggest that instead of searching for magic, perhaps people should look at how they view their values. Meers and Strober recommend that it is possible to have dual breadwinners if you replace “I” with “we.” Oftentimes women either subconsciously create an either/or option instead of figuring out how to have both. Moms frequently take on the parenting while the husbands pursue careers which reinforces a man’s role as breadwinner. But it is necessary to create an equal partnership. Equal does not mean it is always 50/50 but partners need to manage the ebb and flow. Women must expect that men can take care of their children and that children need their fathers to be a part of their upbringing in a meaningful, engaging way.
“Talk to happy two-worker families farther down the path and you’ll feel more secure about what lies ahead.”
Part one covers why two careers are better than one. Part two busts myths about work, women and men. Finally, part three covers solutions. The book is littered with real-life examples and tons of research to support the authors’ beliefs. Getting to 50/50will give readers lots to ponder. It will challenge them to check their perceptions and possibly even change their behaviors in order to achieve the work/life balance so many modern employees crave.
The Power of Storytelling
Don’t be fooled by this book’s plain exterior and seemingly simple message. “The Power of Storytelling” offers a humble formula that is easy to learn and to practice. The book is divided into three practical subsets: Mindset, Skillset and Toolset. In the Mindset section topics covered range from understanding influence to the science of storytelling to the five places to use stories. Under the Skillset section, foundation, blueprint and delivery are covered. Finally in the Toolset section making stories compelling, dynamic and memorable are explained.
Ty Bennett shares numerous examples of how stories can dramatically change the outcome of a presentation if the presenter (or influencer) is thoughtful about the story and how they use it. Bennett contends that the presenter or influencer must first understand that telling stories is entirely about the audience. If the influencer presents from the audience’s perspective, he will surely engage that audience. Bennett then shares the five tools of engagement. Concepts in the book are reinforced with video clips (links are provided in the book). The book shares all kinds of actionable tips and practical suggestions. If your goal is to become a master storyteller, this is a book you must read and implement.
The Why of Things
Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop’s book The Why of Things will take you by surprise. Winthrop is a masterful storyteller with writing skills, attention to detail, and an intriguing storyline.
Joan and Anders Jacobs arrive with their two daughters at their Massachusetts summer home to find a truck in their quarry. The driver, James Favazza, has apparently committed suicide. This event opens the family’s raw wounds from their own, Sophie, the 17 year old daughter’s suicide just a year earlier. Evie, the 15 year old daughter investigates the crash site and collects “evidence” convinced that foul play has happened. Joan stalks the funeral and the home of Favazza’s mother. Anders cannot stop thinking about his dead daughter and Eloise, the youngest daughter, keeps bringing dead animals home to bury.
“It was many years ago, but the question I still struggle with is the “why”. For the living, for those left behind, there is no answer that is good enough.”
Winthrop discloses the past details of Sophie’s suicide molasses-slow so that I was trying to piece together how the current tragedy for the Jacobs family connected to the painful death of their daughter. Winthrop was so skillful in how she weaved the two stories together. In the end, each family member has figured out how they need to heal and readers will imagine that if faced with similar events, this story offers insight, entertainment and a satisfying end.
The Aftermath
“In austere times, self–pity was a heavily rationed commodity, a thing no one should be caught indulging in public.”
Rhidian Brook indulges the reader in “The Aftermath” to details of 1946 Hamburg during the rebuilding and denazification of Germany. Colonel Lewis Morgan, a British officer, makes the unorthodox decision to live with the German family owning the house he has been stationed in, during his work in Hamburg. Soon after Lewis moves in, his wife Rachel and son Edmund join him in the very grand home. Herr Lubert and his daughter Freda, must move to the top floor servant quarters.
Lubert is still reeling from his wife’s death two years earlier. Freda is combative and divisive with secrets of her own. At the same time, Rachel is still distraught over her older son, Michael’s, death. Rachel is lonely and lost in her foreign surroundings. Rachel is very aware of what the other military families think about her living with a German family. She is intent on keeping her distance from the household “enemy”.
As Rachel slowly removes the imaginary wall, and gets to know Lubert, she discovers herself again. When Lewis must leave to take another assignment, Rachel decides to secretly travel. As she is fearful, but also free, she must share a secret that will change the path she has chosen.
Brook is a master with mixing the mundane details with characters’ trials and tribulations. His specifics are engrossing and the way he leads the reader down the path to be immersed is masterful. In the end, this story of passion, betrayal and ultimate truth and forgiveness will have you hooked.
Margot by Jillian Cantor
Yes, I read a lot of books! Due to being a book reviewer, as well as, an avid book lover on the side, I read lots. TONS! I have managed to find several books this year that have been stunning. And now I have found a book that is also transformative. The dictionary tells me that is not a word, so be it. “Margot” by Jillian Cantor is absolutely that–transformative.
Cantor has skillfully taken “The Diary of Anne Frank” and introduced the reader to Anne’s sister, Margot Frank. Margot escapes to Philadelphia and becomes Margie Franklin (even though history tells us she died in Bergen-Belsen). Peter,the boy she loved at seventeen and who lived in the annex with her, decided that when WWII was over, they would move to Philadelphia and lose “their Jewishness”. Margie believes Peter is dead but has a faint glimmer of hope that maybe he survived, also.
Margie works as a secretary in a Jewish law firm. She does everything to hide her Jewishness including wearing a sweater no matter how hot the temperatures reach, in order to hide her numbered tattoo that she received in the Nazi camp. She practices her religion (or ritual of religion) on Friday nights and rests on the Sabbath. Margie is constantly “tested” as she works for a Jewish lawyer, Joshua. Joshua asks her for help during a case dealing with the unfair treatment of Jews. Joshua becomes a representation of Peter in many ways.
Margie “needs to be whole again” and faces many crossroads as she remembers the past, sees her sister’s story on the big screen and dreams of the future. Pick up this book. Read it! You will never be the same again.
seniyegroff 