Seven new books to check out in June
D-Day, Jack Daniel's, and Jazz Age shenanigans galore
It was only like, seven months ago that I interviewed Garrett M. Graff for Vanity Fair upon the publication of UFO, his otherworldly history of the government’s decades-long hunt for extraterrestrial life. Now the guy’s already got another new book out, this time tackling D-Day, which marks its eightieth anniversary on June 6. Also on tap this month, we’ve got a WWII/Winston Churchill thriller from Bill O’Reilly’s longtime book collaborator; a Reconstruction-era distillery history from a bestselling author and whiskey entrepreneur; a Netflix-ready 1970s tale of survival in the Andes; and not one, but THREE rollicking Jazz Age crime yarns. What more can you ask for?
WHEN THE SEA CAME ALIVE: An Oral History of D-Day, by Garrett M. Graff (Avid Reader Press, June 4)
From the publisher: “The most up-to-date and complete account of D-Day.” PW starred review: “Gripping and propulsive. . . . A panoramic view of an astonishingly intricate plan coming to fruition, undertaken by men and women with a clear sense of its momentousness. Readers will be spellbound.”
TAKING LONDON: Winston Churchill and the Fight to Save Civilization, by Martin Dugard (Dutton, June 11)
From the publisher: “A soaring account of England’s desperate fight to fend off German invasion.” Garret M. Graff calls it: “Colorful, delightfully evocative, and filled with a cast of some of the greatest characters of the 20th century … [T]he closest you can get to London in 1940 without a time machine.”
SHADOW MEN: The Tangled Story of Murder, Media, and Privilege That Scandalized Jazz Age America, by James Polchin (Counterpoint Press, June 11)
From the publisher: “Unscrupulous criminal attorneys, fame-seeking chorus girls, con artists, and misogynistic millionaires harnessed the power of the press to shape public perception. … Famous figures like Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle, and F. Scott Fitzgerald weighed in. … Shadow Men conjures the excess and contradictions of the Jazz Age and reveals the true-crime origins of the media-led voyeurism that reverberates through contemporary life.” Kirkus Reviews: “A sensational crime provokes thought about class privilege and injustice in the American legal system.”
LOVE & WHISKEY: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest, by Fawn Weaver (Melcher Media, June 18)
From the publisher: “A vibrant exploration set in the present day, delving into the life and legacy of Nearest Green, the African American distilling genius who played a pivotal role in the creation of the whiskey that bears Jack Daniel's name.” Clay Risen writing for Bourbon+ magazine: “Weaver didn’t want to use Green to promote whiskey. Rather, she wanted to use whiskey to promote Green—and the idea that enslaved Black people were also a part of the story.”
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW: The Definitive Account of the World’s Greatest Survival Story, by Pablo Vierci (Constable, June 18)
From the publisher: “It was 13 October 1972. Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, carrying a team of young rugby players, their families and friends, took off for the very last time. A deadly miscalculation saw F571 crash directly into the Andean mountains to devastating consequences. … Journalist Pablo Vierci recounts the unsettling stories of the sixteen survivors in intimate detail.” The Daily Mail says: “Vierci’s book is a triumph of empathy.”
A GENTLEMAN AND A THIEF: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue, by Dean Jobb (Algonquin, June 25)
From the publisher: “Catch Me If You Can meets The Great Gatsby meets Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief in this captivating Jazz Age true-crime caper.” PW starred review: “A top-shelf work of true crime… Jobb tells [Arthur] Barry’s tale with both rigor and pathos, painting a tender portrait of a crook who was never fearsome. This is liable to steal readers’ hearts.”
BROADWAY BUTTERFLY: Vivian Gordon: The Lady Gangster of Jazz Age New York, by Anthony M. DeStefano (Citadel, June 24)
From the publisher: “The definitive, jaw-dropping account of the Jazz Age con woman, escort, speakeasy owner, and racketeer Vivian Gordon, whose sensational murder … captivated Prohibition-era New York, obsessed its then-governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, ensnared its mayor, and exposed the city’s dark underbelly of police corruption.” Nicholas Pileggi says: “Mob expert Tony DeStefano tells the little-known story of Vivian Gordon, one of Prohibition’s most notorious racketeers.”