The Imperial Cruise

by James Bradley

The story of the President-Theodore-Roosevelt-arranged diplomatic cruise in 1905 and the history behind it; the president's ingrained idea of white supremacy is clearly revealed.

A very eye-opening book, not only about Roosevelt, but many other presidents and famous people.

Green Leaf in Drought

by Isobel Kuhn

The new Communist government refuses to let a missionary couple leave China for two years, and constantly opresses them, but they remain happy in Christ. What is their secret? This is a lovely book.

The Lost Art of Real Cooking

Rediscovering the pleasures of traditional food one recipe at a time

by Ken Albala & Rosanna Nafziger

An old-fashioned cookery book with recipes written in paragraph form (no list of ingredients at the beginning) for many foods including pickles, jam, soup, bread, cheese, pie and more. Several medieval recipes are also reproduced in the book.

This is interesting just to read if you're interested in cooking; the writing style is entertaining and there's a great deal of historical information. The only error I noticed was that it says in one place that the recipe was reduced by one fifth because the original made a huge amount, but must mean the recipe was reduced to one fifth.

The Story of My Life

by Helen Keller

Helen became blind and deaf at 19 months of age after a severe illness. Her education began when she was six years old and teacher Anne Sullivan came to live with her. She was an extremely bright child, and soon learned hundreds of words by means of the manual alphabet and later, braille. Helen eventually went to college (regular college, not a special one for blind or deaf people), and did very well.

Miss Keller's story is a captivating tale of perseverance. She was determined to do as much as she possibly could in spite of her limitations. I enjoyed reading her story which included many of her letters and some of Miss Sullivan's as well.

Lost in Shangri-La

A true story of survival, adventure and the most incredible rescue mission of World War II 
by Mitchell Zuckoff

A plane carrying 24 US army personnel on a sightseeing trip crashed in the dense jungle of western New Guinea during World War II. Two men and one woman survived and were spotted by a search plane a couple of days later but it was impossible to land nearby to pick them up. The jungle was so dense, they had to walk for hours just to find a place to lie down and, worse, it was rumored the natives were headhunters. This completely factual story of the crash and the heroic rescue of the survivors is a captivating tale.

Visit the author's website for photos and original video footage.

Hudson Taylor's spiritual secret

by Mr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor

Taylor was saved as a boy and as a young man was called by God to be a missionary in China. After difficulties with his mission board, he left it and went on, trusting only God to provide for his needs. In time, he founded the China Inland Mission (now OMF International), which never made an appeal for funds (in his time), and yet the Lord always met their needs. This is a condensation of a larger, two-volume work by the same authors.

This is a captivating, uplifting story that teaches the power of prayer and reliance on God. Highly recommended.

The floor of heaven

A true tale of the last frontier and the Yukon gold rush 

by Howard Blum 

The true story of three men in Alaska and the Yukon and the beginning of the gold rush. Siringo is a cowboy turned detective, Carmack lives with the natives for a while and then discovers gold in Klondike, and Soapy Smith is a con man who aims to be king -- of somewhere.

This is a pretty long book but a great combination of history and adventure. Recommended.

Unbroken

A World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption


by Laura Hillenbrand 

Louie Zamperini was an Olympic runner, member of the US air force in WWII, survivor of 47 days on a life raft after his plane was shot down, spent 2 1/2 years in a Japanese POW camp, was one of Billy Graham's converts (though this is not a Christian book and that was probably a spoiler if you're going to read it) and is still living today. Ms. Hillenbrand tells his riveting story in this book. I was hooked from the beginning and recommend it to those who like real-life adventure stories (there is a fair amount of cruelty described).

Thunder Dog

The true story of a blind man, his guide dog & the triumph of trust at Ground Zero. 

by Michael Hingson

A blind man and his guide dog escaped Tower 1 of the World Trade Center after the plane crash on September 11, 2001. This is the story of what happened to them that day as well as the background story of how they came to be there. Michael tells how he became blind and what it was like for him growing up. He explains how he was matched up with his first guide dog and how they learned to work together. On 9/11, Michael's dog, Roselle, behaved as she had been trained to and was able to keep both of them safe in a situation no one could have foreseen.

This is a great book and it captured my interest from the first page. Although most people have heard what happened on 9/11, the story of each person who was there is unique and I found Mr. Hingson's perspective particularly interesting. Thunder Dog is mostly an autobiographical book, so if someone is expecting it to be full of details about Ground Zero, they may be disappointed. I enjoyed learning about how blind people find ways to do everything sighted people can do as well as the specific events that Roselle and Michael encountered on 9/11. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided me with a complimentary copy of this book to review through BookSneeze®.

Franklin and Eleanor

An extraordinary marriage

by Hazel Rowley

This was an interesting biographical book about the lives and especially the relationships of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Son of the Hawk

A Nova Scotian Boy in '76

by Thomas H. Raddall

A novel about a young man fighting for liberty in Nova Scotia in the 1770's. David Strang from Liverpool, NS, is rescued from a press gang in Halifax by Richard Uniacke. After returning home, he flees through the forest with a native friend to escape British soldiers and later joins other rebels to fight more British at Fort Cumberland where he is wounded.

David's adventures make an exciting story with several narrow escapes. The book is well written and the history is well researched. Worth reading if you like adventure or if you'd like an enjoyable way to learn some Nova Scotia history.

Unbound

A true story or war, love, and survival
by Dean King

This is the story of the "Long March" of Mao Zedong's Chinese Red Army in 1934-35 and especially the 30 women of the First Army division who walked the 4,000 mile journey. It tells of the incredible hardships of the trail, the horrific battles they fought, and the heartbreaking decisions made along the way.

This is the most fascinating book I have read since Baby Catcher; I was absolutely riveted. Before I read it, I knew almost nothing of Chinese history and geography. What an interesting way to learn! Because it is factual and written from old records and interviews with survivors, it is not a smoothly flowing narrative, but I did not find that in any way took away from the story. I very highly recommend this book.