Being there . . . . right NOW, if you haven’t realized the Xmas Buying Season is making its finaldash to Yule Eve and Morning. With a few hours remaining, and your active, conscientious mindintegral and intrinsic with those gift-receiving hours, you may have your new book orderssuccessfully fulfilled. With delays in filling orders almost a certainty, keep the Friday, December13 date in mind. According to many publishers, it is the last day to order, if the hard or softcover book gift is to arrive by the morning of the 24 th . Below are listed some of the most recentbest titles to have arrived, each, or all together, being highly recommended as both gifts and forthe self:“PRESIDENTS AT WAR – – How World War II Shaped a Generation of Presidents, fromEisenhower and JFK through Reagan and Bush”, by Steven M. Gillon (New York TimesBestselling Author). DUTTON, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; Seepenguinrandomhouse.com; softcover, 2025, 6”x 9”, 491 pp, $35. Visit,penguinrandomhouse.com.“BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY – -The Life of Colonel Robert Howard, America’s Most DecoratedGreen Beret”, by Stephen L. Moore. CALIBER, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; Seepenguinrandomhouse.com; softcover, 2024, 5 ½” x 8 ¼”, 296 pp, $14.99. Visit,penguinrandomhouse.com.“SURVIVING WAR, OCEANS APART – – Two Teenagers in Poland and Japan Destined for LifeTogether”, by Yanek Mieczkowski. MCFARLAND & COMPANY, INC., PUBLISHERS, 2024,softcover, 6” x 8 ¾”, 214 pp, $39.95. Visit. www.mcfarlandpub.com.“NAPLES 1343, THE UNEXPECTED ORIGINS OF THE MAFIA”, by Amedeo Feniello. OTHER PRESS,copyrighted 2015, republished 2024, 326 pp, hardcover, 6 ¼” x 9 ¼”, $29.99. Visit,www.otherpress.com.“CONFEDERATE CABINET DEPARTMENTS AND SECRETARIES”, by Dennis L. Peterson.McFARLAND & COMPANY, INC., PUBLISHERS, copyrighted 2016, republished 2024, 286 pp,softcover, 6” x 8 ¾”, $39.95. Visit, www.mcfarlandpub.com.“GANGSTER HUNTERS – – How Hoover’s G-Men Vanquished America’s Deadliest PublicEnemies”, by John Oller. DUTTON, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; SEEpenguinrandomhouse.com; hardcover, 2024, 6 ¼” x 9 ¼”, $35. Visit, penguinrandom.com.All six reviewed and highly recommended as Christmas gifts, group or singly, by Don DeNeviIn short, sincere, genuine gift givers, always consider their equally sincere, genuine recipientsas fledgling bibliophiles, hooked by the joy and pleasure of collecting books. A simplesuggestion: buy all six of the above, wrap each separately, then Yule Eve or Morning enjoy hisor her facial expressing surprise and wonder when unwrapping begins. Who among us isn’tgoing to be mesmerized by Steve Gillon’s story of how the Second World War shaped the
characters and politics of SEVEN, not one, but SEVEN, American presidents, all essentially
honest, each still being voted and ranked upon being from “somewhat good” to “surprisinglygreat”. “PRESIDENTS AT WAR” deserves shelf space in YOUR personal library as well.Then, as a gentle reminder lest you forget, unmistakable malignity has always hissed its waythrough world democracies. Fortunately, GOOD men and women have always, universally,stepped forth to handle its necessary eradication. Who wouldn’t be enthralled reading theirbrave accounts of fierce battles, won and lost? Read retired Wall Street attorney John Oller’s“Gangster Hunters” with your some-what troubled or not teenage son or daughter and delightin the moment when he or she, upon reflection, proudly announces, “It’s the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation for me, mom and dad!” It’s then, for the New Year’s reading, you reward with“NAPLES 1343 – The Unexpected Origins of the Mafia”, a fresh perspective on the early Mafiaas a means of resistance against invasion. If Amedeo Feniello’s gripping history illustrating thepreviously unknown extent of these Mafia families’ power in the 14 th Century is read with you,discussed with you, and understood, your teenager, upon entering the FBI Academy inQuantico, Virginia, will be the bright shining star of his class.Believe this simple, nondescript reviewer who does read and knows a miniscule, little bitabout nothing adds that the other three introduced above are just as provocative, intelligent,demanding, fun and refreshing as “Presidents At War” and “Gangster Hunters”.Oh, for goodness’ sake, buy all of them, and startlingly surprise, all at once, your loved one
with a sudden inundation of six worthy books in one crazed moment.
