‘The Lost Vintage’ Takes Readers On A Sensory Journey to the Past [REVIEW]

French vineyard
A trip to France teaches a young sommelier about much more than wine in Ann Mah’s The Lost Vintage. (Photo by Mark Fusco, Flickr)

Young love, delicious wine, family history, and the French countryside. It’s all here in Ann Mah’s sumptuous new novel, The Lost Vintage. Behind this book’s gorgeous cover you’ll meet a woman who journeys from San Francisco to France with the goal of building upon her knowledge of fine wine. What she learns instead are lessons even more powerful and life changing, ones which will enhance much more than her educated palate.
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‘Caroline’ Ingalls Was One Strong Ma [REVIEW]

Little House on the Prairie side view with wagon
When the Ingalls family left the comfort of Wisconsin, this was the place Caroline had to look forward to calling home. (Photo by Sheila Scarborough, Flickr)

Who didn’t grow up reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books or watching the popular television series starring Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon and Karen Grassle as Ma? For many of us, the Ingalls became such a part of our lives they almost became an extension of our own family. But in both the books and the show, the focus was almost always on the children. That’s why Sarah Miller’s new book, Caroline, is such a treat. Here, we finally get an insider’s look into the heart and mind of one of literature’s most beloved mothers.  Continue reading “‘Caroline’ Ingalls Was One Strong Ma [REVIEW]”

Meet the ‘Sons and Soldiers’ Who Never Gave Up Hope [REVIEW]

Martin Selling questions German SS captives near the front in France, 1944
Martin Selling questions German SS captives near the front in France, 1944. (Photo by US Army Signal Corps)

Martin Selling. Stephan Lewy. Guy Stern. These are just a few of the names that the history books seem to forget when recounting the treachery and bravado of World War II. Yet even though these men may not be household names, they are nevertheless three of America’s unsung heroes, men who not only survived Hitler’s Germany, but who rose up to fight back for their friends, for family, and for vengeance. Now their account is finally being told in Bruce Henderson’s brilliant new book, Sons and Soldiers.  Continue reading “Meet the ‘Sons and Soldiers’ Who Never Gave Up Hope [REVIEW]”

The Surprising Role of Women in Medieval Japan [GUEST POST]

Geisha
Over the centuries, Japanese women have been everything from shopkeepers and moneylenders to geisha and warriors. (Photo by Yiannis Theologos Michellis, Flickr)

Many people don’t realize the important roles women played in medieval Japan, or that a Japanese woman’s “place” was often in the shop—or even on the archery range—as well as in the home. Continue reading “The Surprising Role of Women in Medieval Japan [GUEST POST]”