Book cover of Agent Sonya: Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy

Julian Sher Author Of The North Star: Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln

From Julian's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Julian's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Julian Sher Why Julian loves this book

As in all his books, Macintyre transports you to a world of war and spies but he has an eye for details and personalities that makes his characters come alive

By Ben Macintyre ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Agent Sonya as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Published in Paperback on 27 May

'His best book yet' The Times

'Macintyre's page-turner is a dazzling portrait of a flawed yet driven individual who risked everything (including her children) for the cause' Sunday Times

DISCOVER THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE SPY WHO ALMOST KILLED HITLER - FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR

Ursula Kuczynski Burton was a spymaster, saboteur, bomb-maker and secret agent. Codenamed 'Agent Sonya', her story has never been told - until now.

Born to a German Jewish family, as Ursula grew, so did the Nazis'…


Book cover of Courtesies of the Heart

Joy Neal Kidney Author Of What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter's Quest for Answers

From my list on research of World War II casualties.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm the oldest granddaughter of Leora, who lost three sons during WWII. To learn what happened to them, I studied casualty and missing aircraft reports, missions reports, and read unit histories. I’ve corresponded with veterans who knew one of the brothers, who witnessed the bomber hit the water off New Guinea, and who accompanied one brother’s body home. I’m still in contact with the family members of two crew members on the bomber. The companion book, Leora’s Letters, is the family story of the five Wilson brothers who served, but only two came home.

Joy's book list on research of World War II casualties

Joy Neal Kidney Why Joy loves this book

A WWII P-51 pilot, lost in Germany during WWII, was not located by the Americans for decades. He left a widow and a baby daughter, who felt her father’s absence her whole life. The area where he fell became part of East Germany, so was inaccessible for decades. One local man buried his remains and cared for the grave for years.

This is the amazing story of how several people, speaking three different languages, eventually became a "society of the heart" through the internet and in person. The P-51 pilot's remains were brought home for a military burial. 

By Kenneth Breaux ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Courtesies of the Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The author takes the reader on a compelling odyssey, beginning with a wartime mystery which endured for nearly sixty years. A compelling and often gripping story of loss and discovery.


Book cover of Purity

Allen F. Glazner Author Of Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Eastern California

From Allen's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Allen's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Allen F. Glazner Why Allen loves this book

I love the way Franzen develops characters—they get introduced, you form impressions of them, and then you find out that those impressions are wrong, or at least just superficial looks into much deeper and messier lives.

By Jonathan Franzen ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Purity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Sunday Times bestseller from the author of Freedom and The Corrections

Young Pip Tyler doesn't know who she is. She knows that her real name is Purity, that she's saddled with $130,000 in student debt, that she's squatting with anarchists in Oakland, and that her relationship with her mother - her only family - is hazardous. But she doesn't have a clue who her father is, why her mother chose to live as a recluse with an invented name, or how she'll ever have a normal life.

Enter the Germans. A glancing encounter with a German peace activist leads…


Book cover of The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan

Jane Harvey-Berrick Author Of Troll: My Life in Bomb Disposal

From my list on first-hand accounts of warzones.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have no expertise in the military – I wish I did. But I have incredible respect for their work. I remember reading about the death of Oz Schmid, a bomb disposal officer who was killed in Afghanistan. It was the bravery of his widow, Christina, discussing the appalling lack of equipment and her quiet dignity that touched me profoundly. I asked myself, what can I do to help? Being a writer, I decided to write about it. I quickly realised that I needed an insider’s insight, and found Troll through Felix Fund, the bomb disposal charity. Troll and I wrote the play Later, After, seeing it performed was the proudest moment of my career. 

Jane's book list on first-hand accounts of warzones

Jane Harvey-Berrick Why Jane loves this book

Troll told me that he read this book in preparation for his own deployment to Afghanistan. Winston Churchill said about campaigns in Afghanistan, “Financially it is ruinous. Morally it is wicked. Militarily it is an open question, and politically it is a blunder.”

It doesn’t feel like much has changed. 

By Lester W. Grau ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bear Went Over the Mountain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This rare 10th anniversary edition (published in 2007) contains a new introduction by expert Soviet historian David M. Glantz. In addition all maps and graphics have been enhanced from the 1996 edition. "When the Soviet Union decided to invade Afghanistan, they evaluated their chances for success upon their experiences in East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Unfortunately for their soldiers, as well as the people of Afghanistan, they ignored not only the experiences of the British in the same region, but also their own experience with the Basmachi resistance fighters in Central Asia from 1918-1933. Consequently, in Afghanistan the Soviet army…