A Swastika For Anita

Suddenly a big explosion shook the house. Lisa, who had been asleep, yelled out, "What was that?" Everybody was sitting up, but there was no sound of aeroplanes. "I think I know what it is, they're just blowing up the bridges, that's normal procedure, it means that the Germans aren't here yet." Jelle said. More explosions sounded further away.

Suddenly a big explosion shook the house. Lisa, who had been asleep, yelled out, What was that? Everybody was sitting up, but there was no sound of aeroplanes. I think I know what it is, theyre just blowing up the bridges, thats normal procedure, it means that the Germans arent here yet. Jelle said. More explosions sounded further away.

The second volume of a titanic masterpiece of twentieth-century literature, named one of the best books of 2019 by The New York Times critics. Anniversaries, Volume 2 begins on April 20, 1968. Before long Marie will be devastated by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, even as the news of the Prague Spring has awakened Gesine’s long-dashed hopes that socialism could be a humanism. Meanwhile, her boss at the bank has his own ideas about Czechoslovakia, and Gesine faces the prospect of having to move there for work. Continuing the story of her past from Anniversaries, Volume 1, Gesine describes the Soviet occupation of her hometown, Jerichow, where her father was installed as mayor and ended up in a brutal prison camp. Gesine herself charts a rebellious course through school, ever more bitterly conscious of the moral ugliness of life behind the Iron Curtain. As the year of the novel comes to its end, past and present converge and the novel circles back to its beginnings: Gesine tells Marie about her father, Jakob, dead before she was born, about leaving East Germany, and, as history threatens to take them away from New York, about the beginning of their life together in the city that they have both come to love.

When two brothers, Steve and Paul found some strange rocks on their property they consulted a geology professor who, while doing some tests, almost killed himself. An Alien, called Xander, appeared out of nowhere and warned them the rocks were very dangerous and could destroy the world.

The Singing Violin is a tense thriller about a young girl trying to escape a life of prostitution. When beautiful young Ryanna goes out for a drink with her boyfriend’s sister, she realizes the danger that she is in. For this is no ordinary pub, but a brothel, and she runs away. Harry, the brothel owner, desires Ryanna and catches her, but she escapes him and turns for help to her boyfriend, Richard, who just passed his violin examination with the symphony orchestra. As Richard is playing a concert one night, Ryana watches him on television and excitedly phones her brother Nicholas in New York. A knock on her door announces it’s a flower delivery. When Ryanna opens the door and sees it’s Harry, she screams. Harry drugs her and takes her to an old house he just bought. Nicholas, still on the phone, alerts police who are there when Richard comes home to find Ryana has been kidnapped. The hunt is on to find Ryanna before her life is forever ruined.

The poignant biography of Anita Leslie, only woman to have been awarded both the Croix de Guerre and the Africa Star in World War II. Anita Leslie (1914-85), best known for popular biographies of her relatives including Jennie Churchill, Winston's mother, was also an unlikely war heroine. In 1940, Anita volunteered as an ambulance driver. By the end of the war, she was the only woman to have been awarded both the Africa Star and the Croix de Guerre, alongside the other medals for her service across all four fronts of WWII, as recounted in her remarkable memoir Train to Nowhere. In this revealing biography, Penny Perrick brings Anita to life: her complicated early years, her love for her children, her passion for Ireland, her career as a writer, and the ongoing family drama about Castle Leslie. Telling Tales is a scintillating and poignant account of this flamboyant woman.

A rich and compelling introduction to the history of Asian Pacific American communities as told through 101 objects, from a fortune cookie baking mold to the debut Ms. Marvel comic featuring Kamala Khan Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects invites readers to experience both well-known and untold stories through influential, controversial, and meaningful objects. Thematic chapters explore complex history and shared experiences: navigation, intersections, labor, innovation, belonging, tragedy, resistance and solidarity, community, service, memory, and joy. The book features vibrant full-color illustrations of objects that embody and engage with Asian Pacific American issues, including the immigrant experience, the importance of media representation, what history gets officially documented vs. what does not, and so much more. Those objects include: Name tag for Challenger astronaut Ellison Onizuka Photograph of Hollywood actress Anna May Wong Hello Kitty bento box Stella Abrera's ballet shoes, pancaked to match her skin color Caravan’s Thailand: Songs for Life album Sewing kit of internment camp survivor May Ishimoto Nam June Paik's Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii The Devanagari typographical font patented by Hari Govind Govil Asian Americans are the fastest growing group in the United States and include approximately 50 distinct ethnic groups, but their stories and experiences have often been sidelined or stereotyped. This spirited and beautifully illustrated book offers a vital window into the triumphs and tragedies, strength and ingenuity, and traditions and cultural identities of these communities. Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects is a crucial and celebratory read.

When Ally Lohman, a young vibrant Australian woman, attempts to move out of her alcoholic father's home to be with her lawyer boyfriend Nicholas, an altercation leaves Ally in a coma, her father dead, and Nicholas unjustly accused of murder. Ally recovers, though with no memory of the incident, and travels to Germany where she takes care of her beloved grandmother, whom she calls Oma. Upon arrival, she discovers that Oma's handyman, Albert, has infiltrated Oma's bank accounts. With help from Jonathan, her doctor back in Australia, Ally uncovers a sinister plot cooked up by Albert and his lover Frieda to murder Oma and receive her estate. Intrigue, murder and death ensue as Ally and Jonathan set out to foil the co-conspirators, hoping then to return to Australia and recover her memory and reunite with Nicholas.