Blog Tour: Review of Atlas of World War II; edited by Neil Kagan

Editors: Neil Kagan

Publisher: National Geographic

Date of publication: October 2018

This definitive, lavishly illustrated book from National Geographic features an astonishing array of vintage and newly created maps, rare photographs, covert documents, and eyewitness accounts that illuminate the world’s greatest conflict.

This magnificent atlas delves into the cartographic history of WWII: naval, land, and aerial attacks from the invasion of Poland to Pearl Harbor and the Battle of the Bulge. Rare maps include a detailed Germany & Approaches map used by Allied forces in the final stages of the war, full large-scale wartime maps of the world used by President Roosevelt, and crucial Pacific theater maps used by B-17 pilots. Satellite data renders terrain as never before seen, highlighting countries and continents in stunning detail to include the towns, cities, provinces and transportation roads for a pinpoint-accurate depiction of army movements and alliances. Gripping wartime stories from these hallowed fields of battle, along with photographs, sketches, confidential documents, and artifacts color the rest of this timeless and informative book.

So I'll admit up front that I'm not a big WWII fan.  So, you might wonder why I would choose to review a book on WWII.  The reason is that I happen to know a big WWII buff and I had her in mind as I leafed through this volume.  At first, it seems a little bit overwhelming. It's definitely a volume that is meant to be savored and digested slowly.  This is a big book and has a lot of information packed into it.  The photos are gorgeous and the maps are pretty cool and detailed.  It's National Geographic, you know you are getting perfection.   I highly recommend this one for any history buff or even someone interested in cartography.  It would make an excellent holiday gift!

Purchase Links

National Geographic | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Neil Kagan

NEIL KAGAN, editor, heads Kagan & Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in designing and producing innovative illustrated books. Recently, he edited Great Photographs of World War II, Smithsonian Civil War, and for National Geographic, as well as the best-selling Concise History of the World, Eyewitness to the Civil War, Atlas of the Civil War, The Untold Civil War, Eyewitness to World War II and The Secret History of World War II.

Tour Stops

Monday, November 26th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, December 3rd: Jenn’s Bookshelves

TBD: World War II Database

TBD: Man of La Book

TBD: Into the Hall of Books

TBD: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

TBD: Tina Says…

TBD: Jathan & Heather

TBD: Instagram: @theliterarybirds

TBD: Literary Quicksand

TBD: Instagram: @wellreadmama

TBD: Dwell in Possibility

TBD: Instagram: @giuliland

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Keen

by:  Sam Keen
published by:  Little, Brown and Co.
publish date:   July 12, 2010

The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. THE DISAPPEARING SPOON masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery--from the Big Bang through the end of time.

I have been wanting to read this book ever since it came out.  I can't believe it took me like 5 years to finally get around to it.  That's crazy.  Bottom line, I found this to be a very interesting book.  

The Disappearing Spoon tells the entire history of the Periodic Table.  I didn't realize that it took so long for the Periodic Table to be built into the modern configuration.  The book also breaks down the table into groups of elements and tells some of the history of each element and interesting anecdotal tidbits about the various elements.   There are a lot of stories about the scientists that had a hand in putting together the Periodic Table and discovering different elements.  There were fascinating stories in this book.  

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in science.  It doesn't matter if you're interested in chemistry or not.  All your favorite scientific figures make an appearance in this book.

Blog Tour: Gracianna by Trini Amador

Author: Trini Amador 
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Hardcover; 296p
ISBN-10: 1608325709

The gripping story of Gracianna–a French-Basque girl forced to make impossible decisions after being recruited into the French Resistance in Nazi-occupied Paris.

Gracianna is inspired by true events in the life of Trini Amador’s great-grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. As an adult, Amador was haunted by the vivid memory of finding a loaded German Luger tucked away in a nightstand while wandering his great-grandmother’s home in Southern California. He was only four years old at the time, but the memory remained and he knew he had to explore the story behind the gun.

Decades later, Amador would delve into the remarkable odyssey of his Gracianna’s past, a road that led him to an incredible surprise. In Gracianna, Amador weaves fact and fiction to tell his great-grandmother’s story. As Amador tells the imagined story of how his great-grandmother risked it all, he delivers richly drawn characters and a heart-wrenching page-turner that readers won’t soon forget.

Gracianna is a story that was inspired by the true story of the author's great grandparents.   I say that because while the majority of the book is about Gracianna, her husband Juan takes a pretty big part in her story as well.  The book mainly takes place before and during the Nazi occupation of France.  The author does tell us that the story is pieced together through tales passed down through the family.  So, I'm sure a bit of it is imagined.  

I almost didn't finish this book.  It was pretty slow for me in the beginning.  But, I am glad I kept going with the book.  Gracianna was an amazing woman. We all know what a nightmare World War II was for everyone involved.  By accident she became part of the French Resistance.  What I found both amazing and horrifying was how she essentially became an assassin for them.  She was a naive girl from the mountains when she left with the dream of going to America.  What happened to her in Paris changed her life forever.  The book also delves into Gracianna's sister Constance's time at the concentration camp in Birkenau.  

I won't say that I enjoyed the book because what she went through was horrifying and heartbreaking. That isn't something that one "enjoys".  I will instead say that it was well written and intriguing.  My only wish is that I would have liked to read more about her and Juan's life in America after the war.   I think that this is a wonderful tribute to the author's great grandmother.

About the author:

Trini Amador vividly remembers the day he found a loaded German Luger tucked away in a nightstand

while wandering through his great-grandmother’s home in Southern California. He was only four years old at the time, but the memory remained and he knew he had to explore the story behind the gun. This experience sparked a journey towards Gracianna, Amador’s debut novel, inspired by true events and weaving reality with imagination. It’s a tale drawing from real-life family experiences.

Mr. Amador is a traveled global marketing “insighter.” He is a sought-after guru teaching multinational brand marketers to understand how customer and consumer segments behave based on their needs, values, motivations, feeling and values. He has trained over five thousand brand marketers on how to grow brands in over 20 countries in the last 15 years. His counseling has been valued at global brands including General Electric, Microsoft, AT&T, Yahoo!, Sun Microsystems, Google, Jack Daniel’s, The J.M. Smucker Co., DuPont, Mattel, and Rodale, Inc..

Amador is also a founding partner with his wife and children of Gracianna Winery, an award-winning winery located in Healdsburg, California. The winery also pays tribute to the Amador Family’s maternal grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. Her message of being thankful lives on through them. The Gracianna winery strives to keep Gracianna’s gratitude alive through their wine. Learn more at: www.gracianna.com, like Gracianna Winery on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @GraciannaWinery.

Amador resides in Sonoma County with his family.

Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/graciannatwotour
Twitter Hashtag: #GraciannaTour