The Last Sultan
The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun
by Robert Greenfield (Simon & Schuster)
When 3-year-old Ahmet Ertegun left his native Turkey after his father was appointed ambassador to Switzerland, few could have imagined this tot would become one of the greatest influences in popular music — ever. As the founder of Atlantic Records, the late Ertegun discovered or nurtured talents such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones. His love of music, Greenfield writes, was cinched when he saw Duke Ellington at the London Palladium in 1933. Ertegun was 10.
The Boy in the Suitcase
by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis (Soho Press)
Fans of Nordic crime fiction, rejoice: Something is rotten in Denmark. But never fear, Red Cross nurse Nina Borg is on the case. Writers Kaaberbol and Friis take their do-gooder heroine on a wild ride that begins when Borg finds a 3-year-old boy, drugged but alive, in a public locker in Copenhagen’s train station. Soon, Borg finds herself running, boy in tow, as she struggles to unravel the mystery of the boy’s identity. Is the boy, who speaks only Lithuanian, a victim of child traffickers? And is it safe to notify the authorities?
Blink of an Eye
by William S. Cohen (Tom Doherty Assoc.)
It’s a novel of America’s worst nightmare: a nuclear bomb hits a major city, and no one knows who the attacker is. Cohen, President Clinton’s defense secretary-turned-novelist, draws from his years of experience to create Sean Falcone, a fictional alter-ego of sorts who is tasked with tracking down the enemy. The political establishment says it’s Iran. Falcone’s theory hits a lot closer to home. The hard part? Getting America to believe him.
The Beauty and the Sorrow
An Intimate History of the First World War
by Peter Englund (Knopf)
They call them the lost generation, but you’ll find their story here. As World War I begins, a young man joins the British army, believing it will bring him a better life. A 12-year-old German girl is thrilled because she is allowed to cheer and shout in school. An idealistic French socialist falls apart. Swedish historian Englund takes an intimate view of “The Great War” through the letters and diaries of 20 ordinary people from Europe, Australia and the Americas as they head everywhere from the Western Front to Mesopotamia.
The Dead Celebrity Cookbook
by Frank DeCaro (Health Communications, Inc.)
Flip on a movie channel and get cooking! In the culmination of many years of research and collecting, author DeCaro — a longtime movie critic on “The Daily Show” — invites readers to “put the kitsch back into the kitchen.” And he certainly does so with such dishes as Liberace’s sticky buns, Fred MacMurray’s Flemish pot roast, Eva Gabor’s Hungarian (of course) goulash and Mae West’s fruit compote. We’re particularly fond of Karen Carpenter’s “chewy Pie,” a sweet-and-salty concoction made of saltines, egg whites, whipping cream, chopped nuts, sugar and chocolate shavings.