Underrated Reads

The Propagandist – Cécile Desprairies, translated by Natasha Lehrer

Posted on October 10, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Our protagonist had to navigate between truth and lies, reality and denial for her entire childhood. Now as an adult and a historian, she must face these truths and the role her mother played in Fance during the German occupation. Growing up in the 1960’s, she remembers her mother Lucie gossiping…

Posted in French Literature, Historical Fiction | Tagged anti-antisemitism, France, Nazism, propaganda, WWII | Comments Off

Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World – Anne Applebaum

Posted on October 7, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The autocracies want to create a global system that benefits thieves, criminals, dictators, and the perpetrators of mass murder. We can stop them.” Historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, suggests what democracies can do to save their political systems and why we should fear these present-day autocracies in her latest book, Autocracy,…

Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics and Social Justice, Social Justice, World Issues | Tagged autocracy, China, democracy, dictatorship, Iran, murder, politics, Russia, Venezuela | Comments Off

White Robes and Broken Badges: Infiltrating the KKK and Exposing the Evil Among Us – Joe Moore

Posted on October 4, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) I’ll admit that as a crime writer, I’m a sucker for ‘under the radar – dual life’ narratives, and Joe Moore’s, White Robes And Broken Badges, certainly hit the mark for me. An ex-Army sniper with a valuable skill set, Mr. Moore found himself in a unique position of being…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction | Tagged FBI, Ku Klux Klan | Comments Off

The Scale of Time: From the Beginning – Joseph Lanzara

Posted on September 30, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) “The underlying mission of this book is to render, with accuracy, unimaginably long lengths of time and incredibly vast distances in space, conceivable at a glance.” You’ll note that instead of listing just the author’s name, I have included the phrase as he has it on the front of his book.…

Posted in Non-fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged history, physics, science, space | Comments Off

Tales from Beyond the Closet – Dalton Primeaux

Posted on September 25, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) These sordid tales of horror are weird. Not in a Trump/Vance creepy way, but in an eclectic, frightening, and entertaining way. The kind of weird I like. There are stories encompassing sci-fi and lots of horror: a haunted wooden coffee table, a strange boba shop, wicked wigs, killer vines, and retaliating…

Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Sci-Fi/Speculative/Fantasy/Mythology, Short stories | Tagged homophobia, horror, LGBTQ, serial killers | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden

Posted on September 21, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s 1961, almost twenty years after the war, and it would appear as if the Netherlands has recovered. However, scars linger beneath the surface in unimaginable ways. Isabel, who is almost thirty years old, doesn’t have much of a social life. She’s rigid, and lives alone in the house she grew…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Dutch literature, Netherlands | Comments Off

But Not for Me – Allison A. Davis

Posted on September 17, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s August 1958 and black renters, homeowners and business owners are getting kicked out of the Fillmore district of San Francisco due to redevelopment and urban renewal. Developers are using unfair tactics to enforce eminent domain. Leitisha Boone, owner of the restaurant and jazz club, the Blue Moon, is under such…

Posted in Historical Fiction | Tagged beat generation, corruption, Crime, jazz, justice, Mafia, racism, San Francisco | Comments Off

From Savagery – Alejandra Banca, Katie Brown (Translator)

Posted on September 14, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Being a migrant means feeding yourself on loss, on what could have been, the infinite possible nuances of that history which will forever remain hidden but present.” Seven million Venezuelan’s left their country since the mid-2010s due to violence, scarcity and desperation. The twelve fictional stories in From Savagery, remind us…

Posted in Immigration, Latin American Literature, Short stories, World Issues | Tagged Barcelona, class, immigrants, political history, refugees, Venezuela | Comments Off

On Heroism: McCain, Milley, Mattis, and the Cowardice of Donald Trump – Jeffrey Goldberg

Posted on September 9, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Why do so many politicians and public servants continue to support a man who has little regard for the military, no regard for the Constitution, and holds dictators in such high regard? Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in chief of The Atlantic gives us clues. There are some though, who refuse to compromise…

Posted in American Politics, History, Non-fiction, Politics and Social Justice, Reviewers' Top Picks, Social Justice | Tagged military, political history, President, Trump | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: The House on Fortune Street – Margot Livesey

Posted on September 4, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Is it possible to emotionally escape the experiences of our childhood in order to live our lives fully as adults? Can we ever break away from our own self-absorption in order to get close to those we hold dear? These topics have been explored endlessly by numerous writers, but none have…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged English literature, infidelity, obsession | Comments Off