The Baroness
The Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild
by Hannah Rothschild (Knopf)
As a child in early-1900s England, Nica Rothschild lived on an estate where her uncle kept a menagerie with kangaroos, emus and zebras. She married a French baron, had five children and worded as a decoder in WWII. In the early 1950s, she became spellbound by the music of Thelonious Monk, left her husband, moved to New York and devoted herself to Monk (who was married) — and his jazz cohorts. A fascinating tale by Nica’s great-niece.
The Silence and the Roar
by Nihad Sirees (Other Press)
Written in 2004 and just now translated into English, Syrian writer Sirees’ novel offers a Kafkaesque look into an unnamed but recognizable Middle Eastern country. It takes place on one day in the life of writer Fathi Chin, who, on the outs with the regime, keeps a low profile. As he watches festivities celebrating the national leader’s 20 years in power, he sees government thugs beating a young man and intervenes. The result: His government ID card is confiscated, and he must report to the authorities to get it. But officials won’t let him into their headquarters without an ID.
Hidden Cities
Travels to the Secret Corners of the World’s Great Metropolises; A Memoir of Urban Exploration
by Moses Gates (Tarcher/Penguin)
An explorer and traveler, author Gates doesn’t exactly head down to Disney World when he leaves his NYC home. An urban planner by trade, he visits the parts of cities and countries most people don’t. He and a pair of pals somehow climb to the top of the Manhattan Bridge — without getting locked up. In sneaking to the top of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, he is arrested. In other adventures, Gates explores the catacombs of Paris, traverses the ancient sewers of Rome and bikes what’s billed as the “Road of Death” in the mountains of Bolivia.
The House of Rumour
by Jake Arnott (New Harvest)
In 1941, Great Britain was at a turning point. Now from “The Long Firm” author Arnott, a sci-fi thriller/literary exploration of what might have been. The tale is told as a series of short stories, and they cover British intelligence agent and future James Bond creator Ian Fleming, Hitler deputy Rudolf Hess, a transsexual prostitute and L. Ron Hubbard.
The Girls of Atomic City
The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
by Denise Kiernan (Touchstone)
The image of Rosie the Riveter — women filling in at factories to help the war effort — is well known. But women also assisted on the Manhattan Project, signing up for secret work in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to help build the atomic bomb. Kiernan looks at the lives and contributions of these unsung women who worked in jobs from secretaries to chemists.