Book review: The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division — by Maurice Isserman

(Houghton Mifflin) Maurice Isserman is a virtual encyclopedia of skiing and mountaineering lore and history, and to the reader’s benefit, it is on full display in this fascinating look at the 10th Mountain Division, or as Isserman describes them, “America’s Elite Alpine Warriors.” These troops played an integral part in a pivotal moment in World War II and remarkably, before 1943, America didn’t even have mountain troops. The idea was born in Manchester, Vt., when four skiers, elites in the American skiing … (read more)

(Riverhead Books) Much of what has been taught in schools, and propagated through popular culture about the role of Indians (the term used by the author throughout this book) in America’s early colonies and westward expansion, are myths. For instance, whe … (read more)

(Doubleday Books) Critically acclaimed Newfoundland author Michael Crummey’s new novel transports the reader to another time, another place. What begins as a story of survival — a sister and brother orphaned at young ages, odds already stacked against the … (read more)

(Houghton Mifflin) There are a multitude of YouTube stars these days, I know, but bear with me, I believe Andrew Rea, best known for creating the “Binging with Babish” channel, is the real deal. As Andrew writes in his introduction (which is moving, raw a … (read more)

(Atria Books) When we meet Jacob Marley in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” and yes, this is the selfsame man in Jon Clinch’s delectable new novel, he is a haggard specter, weighted down with heavy chains. It is his desire to save Scrooge from a similar fate … (read more)

(Little Brown and Company) Leslie Jamison, author of the award-winning essay collection, “The Empathy Exams,” is an astute observer of the people she investigates, holding her skepticism in check, as well as herself, and how she relates to the stories she … (read more)

(Rootstock Publishing) Luke isn’t interested in learning anything about Peshawar or Pakistan, because even though his dad “had him over Christmas vacation. It said so in the divorce,” Peshawar, and the “Great Goddamn Project,” as he and his mother referre … (read more)

(Atria Books) The epigraph at the beginning of William Kent Krueger’s could not be more apt: “Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story” from Homer’s epic “The Odyssey.” The award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling novel “Ordinary Grac … (read more)

(St. Martin’s Press) Renia’s diary — because that is what you hold in your hands, the diary of a young girl, a teenager, whose childhood was, as Greta Thunberg would say, stolen from her — feels private and due consideration should be accorded when readin … (read more)

(University of Georgia Press) As an essay collection, Emily Arnason Casey’s new book succeeds on every level. Her writing is evocative, relatable, haunting and magical. Using descriptive prose that stimulates your every sense, the essays transport you to … (read more)

(Knopf Publishing Group) As the Cold War began to intensify in the mid-1950s, the not-so-venerable C.I.A., referred to as “the Agency” in Lara Prescott’s sensational new novel, devoted a portion of its resources to playing the long game, and one of its ob … (read more)

(G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers) Frank Li is “Frankly in Love,” but just who is he in love with? Frank, a Korean American teen who runs with the Apeys-crowd (they’re sober kids, all in the same Advanced Placement (AP) classes), is torn. Can he … (read more)

(W. W. Norton & Company) A collection of stories as refreshingly cool and bright as these last few weeks have been in our Land of Milk and Honey, and shot through with startling observations on the human condition that are occasionally as difficult to gra … (read more)

(Minotaur Books) Steadfast readers of Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series of murder mysteries: rest assured that “A Better Man,” the 15th book in the award-winning series, will exceed your expectations. Gamache returns to the Sûreté du Québec, though not … (read more)

(G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers) In a follow-up to Small Spaces, Katherine Arden, bestselling author of the Winternight series, has crafted another spellbinding ghost story about a trio of young kids who must navigate a treacherous path relyin … (read more)