There have been numerous accounts of Waterloo, the famous, final and decisive battle of the Napoleonic era fought in Belgium on June 15, 1815. Alessandro Barbero, an Italian historian and novelist, has penned a new and exciting history of the encounter in The Battle: A New History of Waterloo. This truly fresh, balanced and appealing narrative of the battle, drawing on first-hand recollections from participants of all ranks and nationalities, presents new insights along with intense, colorful descriptions of the various skirmishes, charges and defensive stands that decided the outcome.

Expecting to hit the bookstores and the library shelves mid September, Marlon Brando’s Fan-Tan, a “film treatment-turned-novel“, has already gathered much media frenzy.

If you missed Dinitia Smith’s New York Times article on August 2nd on the various incarnations of Brando’s manuscript before finally landing at Alfred A. Knopf, the publisher; you might want to check out her weblog. (Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

Though 50 degree mornings suggest that summer is in its last gasps, we still have time for another edition of The Fair Ground. Head on out to the 68th Annual Chelsea Community Fair from August 23 through August 27. There will be animal judging, tractor pulls, livestock auctions, clowns and to top it off, a parade! You might also be interested in reading about Agricultural Fairs in America: tradition, education, celebration edited by Julie A. Avery.
See you there!

Dennis Lynds, author of the Dan Fortune series under the pseudonym Michael Collins, died August 19, 2005.

Lynds’ first Dan Fortune series, Act of Fear (1967), won the Edgar for Best First Novel. In 1998, the Private Eye Writers of America honored him with their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lynds wrote under many pseudonyms, including William Arden (Alfred Hitchock and the Three Investigators series).

Lynds was 81.

Somebody’s Daughter by Marie Myung-Ok Lee is the story of nineteen year old Sarah who was adopted from Korea by a Minnesota couple who told her that her birth parents had been killed in a car crash. Sarah travels to Seoul for a year long study of the Korean language. While there, she discovers that her birth parents may still be alive, and begins a search for her birth mother. In alternating chapters, we learn her birthmother’s sad story. Through her Korean-American boyfriend, Sarah is introduced to the people and customs of a country where she was born but feels foreign to her. Marie Lee introduces us to the rural and urban landscape and the people who try to preserve tradition in the face of major changes.

The wait is over! Eldest is finally here! After the amazing success of Eragon by Christopher Paolini kids and teens have been waiting for what seems like forever for the sequel. You can meet Christopher at the Arborland Borders store on Wednesday, August 31 @ 7:00 PM.

On September 2, 2005, the Private Eye Writers of America will announce the winners of their 24th annual Shamus awards in Chicago. Sara Paretsky will be award awarded PWA’s 2005 Life Achievement Award.

Nominees and their categories for this year are:

Best P.I. Novel     

Leonard Chang    Fade to Clear
Robert Ferrigno    The Wake-up

Vacations are the perfect time to sit back and read, and my vacation last week was no exception. The family cottage in the Les Cheneaux Islands (think outhouses and walking a half mile for drinking water) was lovely, even if my family wasn't, and when we weren't swimming or bickering, we were reading.

My father read Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen and highly recommends it as a funny and clever thriller. He also read A Cold Day in Paradise, a UP mystery by Steve Hamilton that won an Edgar Award. (More adult, teen and kids books after the break!)

In 1963, Korean War vet James Lyons disappeared. Forty-some years later his bones are uncovered during the excavation of land in preparation for a shopping center. Medical examiner Jake Rosen, a bit of a fashion slob but a forensic genius, is called in to investigate. Soon he’s paired with Philomena “Manny” Manfeda, an attorney for the Lyons family in a comedic thriller/mystery. Husband-wife authors, Michael Baden and Linda Kenney know from whence they write their debut mystery -– Baden was a former New York City chief medical examiner and Kenney can be seen on CNN and Court TV in her role as legal commentator.

Kate Klise, part of the sister team who have written such silly favorites as Regarding the Fountain and Regarding the Sink, has recently struck out on her own and published a more dramatic story called Deliver Us From Normal. It is the story of Charlie Harrisong, one of five kids in a crazy, disorderly family, growing up in Normal, Illinois. But Charlie thinks his family is anything but normal. After a horrible incident involving his older sister running for school president, the family takes off in the middle of the night for the Deep South in an adventure that will help Charlie really understand his family.