Douglas Jacobson Explores WWII Polish Resistance

Recently Night of Flames author Douglas W. Jacobson delved into the real history of the WWII Polish Resistance organization Home Army (Armia Krajowa) for the Polish-American newspaper the Am-Pol Eagle.

Poland's Armia Krajowa and German V-2 Rockets in WW2

Part One of Two

Buried deep in a mountainside in the small town of Peenemunde on the Baltic Sea, German scientists were hard at work on the most secret and insidious weapons known to mankind during the dark years of World War Two – the V-1 and V-2 rockets. While rumors of these developments had been floating around Allied intelligence circles, it was not until the winter of 1942 that they were taken seriously. This occurred following a secret report dispatched to London from the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa or AK). The report included information gathered by an AK agent working at the Czech steelworks plant in Witowice who had learned of top secret tests being conducted by the Germans utilizing very special steel alloys and advanced manufacturing techniques to produce large steel cylinders.

Further undercover espionage activities by AK agents revealed the secret testing facility at Peenemunde. In the summer of 1943, one particular agent, posing as a forced laborer, was able to create sketches of the testing facility, which was now close to producing V-1 rockets, or “flying bombs” in large-scale quantities. Through a complex network of secret agents and safe-houses his report and sketches made their way to the AK commanders in Warsaw and then to Allied intelligence authorities in London. (Read the full WWII Polish Resistance article.)

Purchase Night of Flames: A Novel of WWII, by Douglas W. Jacobson at mcbooks.com

Four Kings: 2008 Best Holiday Reading according to SecondsOut.com

Thomas Hauser, writing on SecondsOut.com, named his favorite boxing books for holiday reading and included George Kimball’s Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing.

Here’s what Hauser had to say:

Each year during the holiday season, I publish a “top forty” list of what I consider to be the best books on boxing. That list, updated to accommodate recently published titles, follows . . .

Four Kings by George Kimball (McBooks Press) – Kimball recounts the epic nine battles contested among Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Duran between 1980 and 1989. It was a special time for boxing fans and more special for those who, like Kimball, experienced the drama firsthand from the inside. The bigger the fight, the better Kimball tells it. (Read the full boxing column.)

Purchase Four Kings, by George Kimball, at McBooks.com

The Book of Matthew chosen a 2008 Great Debut by Rocky Mountain News

Denver’s Rocky Mountain News came out with its choices for Best Debut Novels of the year and gave an enthusiastic nod to The Book of Matthew, by Thomas White.

In praising the novel, Justin Matott says, “There are many bland — been-there-done-that — kind of serial killer books out there. White’s literary style is fresh, inventive, engrossing and truly macabre.” (Read the full Great Debuts article.)

Purchase The Book of Matthew from McBooks.com

The Book of Matthew, by Thomas White, a pick of the year by Shelf Awareness

Calling The Book of Matthew a “superb, adrenaline-laced thriller,” Shelf Awareness has chosen White’s debut novel as a pick of the year. The crime thriller follows the macabre plans of a twisted serial killer with a very personal grudge, and the increasingly desperate attempts by San Francisco detectives to stop him from committing his brutal crimes. The novel came out in August and has garnered an enthusiastic fan base. (See full Shelf Awareness pick of the year list.)

Purchase The Book of Matthew at McBooks.com

Museum of Human Beings: Historical novel is “rich with unusual historical detail”

In a November 28, 2008 review, the Denver Post lauds Colin Sargent’s new novel:

Using Lewis and Clark's amazing trek as its springboard, Colin Sargent centers on Sacagawea, the journey's guide. Actually, it focuses on Sacagawea's son, Jean Baptiste, who began his life on that fateful voyage.

Jean Baptiste's mother had told Pomp — her nickname for him — that the Indian must be helpful but not too smart because, "It makes a bad impression." But, upon her death, Clark sends the boy to a Catholic school until, on the threshold of manhood, he becomes the traveling companion of Friedrich Wilhem, Prince of Wurttemberg. (Read the full review.)

Purchase Museum of Human Beings, by Colin Sargent at McBooks.com

George Kimball on NPR's "Only a Game"

Bill Littlefield, host of NPR's "Only a Game," interviews George Kimball about his new book Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing. George and Bill discuss the fights, the fighters, and the golden days of middleweight boxing. (Listen to the show.)

Purchase Four Kings, by George Kimball, at McBooks.com

Author Colin Sargent talks about Sacagawea and the inspiration for his novel Museum of Human Beings

“Sacagawea is always portrayed with her ‘papoose,' who appears to be a fashion accessory.”

During a recent interview for the York Independent newspaper, Sargent spoke of his inspiration for this work of fiction that is steeped in historical fact.

"All the images of Lewis and Clark's famous Shoshone guide, from elementary history books to the coin in currency today, are titled ‘Sacagawea.' But there are two human beings in those pictures... Sacagawea is always portrayed with her ‘papoose,' who appears to be a fashion accessory as central to her legend as a flag is to Betsy Ross... I found myself wondering, who is that boy? Whatever happened to him?"

From there, Sargent explained that he began hunting through archive entries that mention Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, who lived from 1805 to 1866.

As a result of that search, Sargent said, "a picture of a man struggling to emerge from the shadow of his celebrity mom began to take shape, and I felt a real connection - Baptiste is a touchstone for so many of us who are searching for our own place in the world." (read the full interview with Colin Sargent)

Purchase Museum of Human Beings, by Colin Sargent at McBooks.com

Museum of Human Beings: Sacagawea’s son searches for his true identity in a changing world

Publishers Weekly: “A stylish look at the fate of Sacagawea’s baby son”

Playwright Colin Sargent's debut novel is a stylish look at the fate of Sacagawea's baby son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the first Native American to tour Europe—as a curiosity and entertainment, of course. Twenty-four-year-old Sacagawea, though married, becomes William Clark's lover while helping guide the Lewis and Clark Expedition; after she dies on the trail, Clark adopts her son, Baptiste. Soon, Clark establishes his home in St. Louis, as well as a garish museum dedicated to his expedition, and sets to educating his new son. –-Publishers Weekly (read the full review)

Purchase Museum of Human Beings, by Colin Sargent at McBooks.com

A Fistful of Diamonds: The blood diamond trade meets the world's luckiest gem dealer

A Fistful of Diamonds: A Gemstone Thriller

By John B. Robinson

A suite of priceless diamonds surfaces in Central Africa. Fast-talking gem expert Lonny Cushman wants them. As cover, he chaperones a young seminarian to Rwanda in search of her missing father.

Once there, Lonny chases the diamonds through the killing fields of the Congo. Survival depends on negotiating the bloody machinery that benefits from the conflict diamond trade--Islamic jihadis, corrupt army officers, Israeli diamantaires, and Ukrainian arms dealers. Can he save himself, the diamonds, and the seminarian from a terrible end?

“If you’re thirsting for a canny, ironic international thriller . . . jump into John B. Robinson’s A Fistful of Diamonds.”

—Portland Magazine

Purchase the Gemstone Thrillers, by John B. Robinson, at McBooks.com

ESPN boxing blog: Four Kings by George Kimball “terrific”

George Kimball gives Bernard Hopkins a copy of his book, Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era if Boxing, at the Pavlik-Hopkins Pre-Fight Press Conference

ESPN Fight Credential: Pavlik vs Hopkins blog had some laudatory things to say about the “Pavlik–Hopkins and the Era of the Four Kings” panel discussion held at Caesars Palace on Saturday October 18. Reporter Don Steinberg filed three blog entries about the panel. Here’s one:

The guest panelists who discussed George Kimball's terrific book "Four Kings" shared some awesome inside stories.

Emmanuel Steward on Tommy Hearns' loss to Marvin Hagler in 1985: "The night we lost that fight was the most painful night of my life."

Bob Arum on Hearns's 1984 knockout of Roberto Duran: "The best knockout I've ever seen."

Larry Merchant said he always knew how concerned Hagler was about an opponent by seeing how many quarters of a pound under 160 Hagler weighed in at. Steward told how he got Leonard drunk to talk him into fighting Hearns into a 1989 rematch for $12 million.

Bottom line: Check out the book. -- Don Steinberg (read all three ESPN blog entries)

Purchase Four Kings, by George Kimball, at McBooks.com