Five new books to check out in August
A mysterious First Lady, bookstore history, and the WW2 rise of American fashion
It’s the dead of summer and the pickings are slimmer than usual. But you’ve still got some good options for August vacation-reading. Starting with…
THE MYSTERIOUS MRS. NIXON: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady, by Heath Hardage Lee (St. Martin’s Press, August 6)
From the publisher: “A new, revolutionary look into the brilliant life of Pat Nixon.” Booklist: “Drawing on her extensive interviews with family, former White House staff, longtime friends, and historians, Lee offers a clarifying portrait of this elusive and enigmatic woman."
THE BOOKSHOP: A History of the American Bookstore, by Evan Friss (Viking, August 6)
From the publisher: “Evan Friss’s history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many.” The New York Times: “A spirited defense of this important, odd and odds-defying American retail category.”
EMPRESSES OF SEVENTH AVENUE: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion, by Nancy MacDonell (St. Martin’s Press, August 27)
From the publisher: “In the tradition of The Barbizon and The Girls of Atomic City, fashion historian and journalist Nancy MacDonell chronicles the untold story of how the Nazi invasion of France gave rise to the American fashion industry.” Town & Country: “[This] story of international intrigue and its sartorial consequences is told in fascinating detail.”
CITIZEN COWBOY: Will Rogers and the American People, by Steven Watts (Cambridge University Press, August 29)
From the publisher: “Will Rogers was a youth from the Cherokee Indian Territory of Oklahoma who rose to conquer nearly every form of media and entertainment in the early twentieth century's rapidly expanding consumer society. Through vaudeville, the Ziegfeld Follies and Broadway, syndicated newspaper and magazine writing, the lecture circuit, radio, and Hollywood movies, Rogers built his reputation as a folksy humorist whose wit made him a national symbol of common sense, common decency, and common people.”
REPORTING THE NUREMBERG TRIALS: How Journalists Covered Live Nazi Trials and Executions, by Noel Marie Fletcher (Pen and Sword, August 30)
From the publisher: “Because publicity was a main consideration, the latest innovations and technology were incorporated into the courtroom to enhance news coverage. … Famous war correspondents and young journalists who later became household names were headquartered in a castle, explored bombed ruins and faced dangers as a lingering spirit of Nazism seethed within the city. The lengthy trial became an excruciating endurance test for journalists by the time it ended.”