Being there . . . . for this reviewer’s sampling of the Best Book Buys for Christmas and the New
Year – – several of America’s finest publishers have lined up 10 titles for today’s shopping early .
. . . he wonders, “Why not select two or three, or even four, around a total of $100-$125, then
wrap them as one – – Christmas morning in your home, watch and hear the walls around the
tree reverberate and rebound with “Hoo-rays” and “Hurrahs” for your winning selections from
the plethora of available new titles. ARGunners’ reviewer Don DeNevi, surely, a Greg Peck-look
alike, has selected his choices during the past several months for reading joy and happiness.
Not one of his that follows is staid. A few may even reach the top of his 2024 Best Seller
shelves. Enjoy watching eyes widen into wider smiles. Each, regardless of subject and content,
boasts the best qualities of literature, to the fullest extent: self-restraining, decent reading,
honest, every chapter, nay, in every case, page after page, complete, undivided, unbroken,
nonpareil writing integrity throughout the book’s entirety. Ten of the finest of the best follow,
their numerical listing below certainly NOT an indication of each book’s relishing eminence:
“FALLING IN LOVE AT THE MOVIES – – ROM-COMS from the Screwball Era to Today” by
Esther Zuckerman, 242 pages, $24. See, www.runningpress.com, or, www.tcm.com.
RUNNING PRESS
“THE FIGHTING FATHERS – – CIA-Backed Catholic Militia in South Vietnam” by Alessandro
Giorgi, 80 pages, $24.99. See, www.schifferbooks.com. SCHIFFER
“THE TALENTED MRS. MANDELBAUM – – The Rise and Fall of An American Organized –
Crime Boss” by Margalit Fox, 304 pages, $32. See, randomhousebooks.com. RANDOM
“HIROSHIMA – – The Last Witnesses – Embers, Volume 1” by M.G. Sheftall, 546 pages,
$36. See, penguinrandomhouse.com. DUTTON
“OUR ANCIENT FAITH – – Lincoln, Democracy, and The American Experiment” by Allen C.
Guelzo, 248 pages, $30.00. See, www.aaknopf.com. KNOPF
“TUBBY – – Raymond O. Barton and the U.S. Army, 1889 – 1963” by Stephen A. Bourque,
487 pages, $34.95. See, University of North Texas Press, Untpress.unt.edu. (This is No.
24 in the North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series). UNT PRESS
“BY WATER BENEATH THE WALLS – – The Rise of The Navy Seals” by Benjamin H.
Milligan, 625 pages, $24. See, randomhousebooks.com. BANTAM BOOKS
“THE WHITE LADDER – – Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering” by Daniel
Light, 412 pages, $32.50. See, wwnorton.com 1@wwnorton. W.W. NORTON &
COMPANY, INC.
“THE SECOND SUN” by P.T. Deutermann, on sale 3/18/25, or sooner, FICTION. War &
Military, 295 pages, $29. See, pubilicity@stmartins. ST.MARTIN’S PRESS
“MERS EL-KEBIR 1940 – – Operation Catapult” by Ryan K. Noppen, Illustrated by Adam
Tooby”, 96 pages, $25. See, www.ospreypublishing.com. OSPREY PUBLISHING
Ten more nonpareils tomorrow, since, past election time news, we move on to the most
joyous giving day of 2024. Ending this with the reminder:
“May the Blessings of the Christ Child
Descend upon you on the
Coming Feast of the Nativity”
Rev. Francis J. Weber
Carmel Mission, California
