Being there . . . . right NOW, if you haven’t realized the Xmas Buying Season is making its final
dash to Yule Eve and Morning. With a few hours remaining, and your active, conscientious mind
integral and intrinsic with those gift-receiving hours, you may have your new book orders
successfully fulfilled. With delays in filling orders almost a certainty, keep the Friday, December
13 date in mind. According to many publishers, it is the last day to order, if the hard or soft
cover book gift is to arrive by the morning of the 24 th . Below are listed some of the most recent
best titles to have arrived, each, or all together, being highly recommended as both gifts and for
the self:
“PRESIDENTS AT WAR – – How World War II Shaped a Generation of Presidents, from
Eisenhower and JFK through Reagan and Bush”, by Steven M. Gillon (New York Times
Bestselling Author). DUTTON, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; See
penguinrandomhouse.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 Decorated
Green Beret”, by Stephen L. Moore. CALIBER, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; See
penguinrandomhouse.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 Life
Together”, 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 Public
Enemies”, by John Oller. DUTTON, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; SEE
penguinrandomhouse.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 DeNevi
In short, sincere, genuine gift givers, always consider their equally sincere, genuine recipients
as fledgling bibliophiles, hooked by the joy and pleasure of collecting books. A simple
suggestion: buy all six of the above, wrap each separately, then Yule Eve or Morning enjoy his
or her facial expressing surprise and wonder when unwrapping begins. Who among us isn’t
going 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 “surprisingly
great”. “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 way
through world democracies. Fortunately, GOOD men and women have always, universally,
stepped forth to handle its necessary eradication. Who wouldn’t be enthralled reading their
brave 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 delight
in the moment when he or she, upon reflection, proudly announces, “It’s the Federal Bureau of
Investigation 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 Mafia
as a means of resistance against invasion. If Amedeo Feniello’s gripping history illustrating the
previously 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 in
Quantico, Virginia, will be the bright shining star of his class.
Believe this simple, nondescript reviewer who does read and knows a miniscule, little bit
about 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.
