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Book Reviews
They have been called The Greatest Generation – the generation of men and women who fought in World War II or stayed home to do their part to keep the home front safe and secure. Gene Moore in Playing with the Enemy by Gary W. Moore spent much of World War II playing baseball, sometimes with German POWs. His focus never waned. Baseball was his life and he exuded sportsmanship and leadership on and off the field.
At the age of fifteen Gene was singled out by the major leagues and soon was playing in the minor leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was too young to be officially signed, but the Dodgers found a loophole to allow him to play in the minors. He was named Rookie of the Year, even though he only played in 22 games that year.
Then it is December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor. The world is forever changed and so is Gene Moore's destiny. He is no longer headed for the major leagues, but enlists in the Navy in March 1942 when he turns 17. The Dodgers arrange for Gene to play Navy exhibition baseball for the troops in the European theater. When the African campaign comes to a close, the baseball team is sent back to the states and eventually become guards for the sailors of a captured German
U-505. The U-505 is the "first enemy ship boarded and captured by the US Navy since the War of 1812." To enable the United States to use the code breaking information found onboard, the abduction of the crew becomes top secret status. Not even the Red Cross is notified and the prisoner's families believe they are MIA, presumed dead. The German crew is sent to Louisiana and the Navy baseball team is sent there to guard them. Gene's mind is not on guarding, but on baseball. He eventually convinces the camp commander and a few of the Germans of the possibilities of practicing baseball and even playing a few exhibition games, where the spirit of competitive sports wins out with "the sound of men laughing and yelling in two languages." But, fate would step in with life changing consequences.
This book is a wonderful read that is more than a story about baseball or World War II. It is a story of courage, friendship, determination, coping with misfortune, and hope – sometimes with heart-wrenching results.
Kathy Thomsen
Library Director
Lexington Public Library
In the book It Only Takes a Moment by Mary Jane Clark, Eliza Blake is host to one of the world's top rated News morning shows – KEY America. Despite living a high profile life, Eliza is determined that Janie, the 7 year-old daughter whom she adores, will always be her number one priority. When she returns home from work one afternoon the house is empty. Eliza is at first surprised that Janie and Mrs. Garcia, her Guatemalan nanny and housekeeper are not home, but assumes they must be out shopping. However, as time passes her surprise turns into fear. Soon both the local police and the FBI are involved. It becomes evident that Janie has been kidnapped from the day camp she attended. Evidence shows Mrs. Garcia picking her up seven hours earlier, possibly under duress. Even though in her career Eliza has covered her share of tragedies, kidnappings, and dangers, nothing has prepared her for this.
A myriad of leads and clues appear, but days pass and Janie and Mrs. Garcia are not found. As the FBI tracks down the physical evidence and the leads called or e-mailed into the "Find Janie Hotline", a psychic, who claims to have seen Janie in a dream, suddenly appears. She seems to have information that has not been released to the public and although discounted by the FBI, Elisa begins to wonder if this is the route to finding her daughter. A group of her friends from the television network, also known as the Sunrise Suspense Society, decide to work on their own to try to uncover the truth and find the missing pair. The chapters are short and fast paced which make this book a quick read. You continually want to read, "Just one more chapter," until you suddenly reach the end with its surprising conclusion.
Kathy Thomsen
Library Director
Lexington Public Library
On October 7, 2008, the Lexington Public Library was visited by the Buseum, "Held in the Heartland, German POWs in the Midwest, 1943-46." This Buseum tells the story of the roughly 372,000 German POWs who were held in Army operated POW camps across the United States. Here are a few of the books the Lexington Public Library purchased from the Buseum bookstore
Held in the Heartland by Michael Luick-Thrams is the story of the POW camps in the Midwest as told on the Buseum. The pictures and captions are similar to those viewed on the Buseum. The book gives a clear picture of these POW camps during World War II.
The Red Tails, World War II's Tuskegee Airmen by Steven L. Jones tells the story of the many young black men who answered the United State's call for airmen. Many became excellent pilots. However, the Army Air Corps did not accept the African Americans and did not believe they could become good pilots. In early 1941 policy changed and the Army Air Corps established an all-black fighting unit named the 99th Pursuit Squadron. These men proved to be some of the most capable soldiers and pilots in World War II.
Not as Briefed – From the Doolittle Raid to a German Stalag are the World War II memoirs of C. Ross Greening, who had the ability to author and illustrate a one of a kind record of action in World War II. Written in an engaging style, you'll both laugh and shed a tear. He flew with Jimmy Doolittle, was shot down over Mt. Vesuvius, and escaped, only to be recaptured. In a Stalag at Barth, Germany he continued to make a pictorial story of war from a POW perspective. Near the end of the war the Allied prisoners were able to seize control their camp and Greenings invaluable watercolors, sketches and logbook were safely brought out by Jimmy Doolittle's B-17's.
Annelee Woodstrom has authored two books selected from the Buseum collection. War Child: Growing Up in Adolph Hitler's Germany is her story of life growing up in Hitler's Germany from the early days when her greatest desire was to belong to Adolph Hitler's Jung Maidens' organization to its terrifying end and Germany's devastation. Empty Chairs tells of her marriage to a GI (she spoke German, he spoke English) and coming to America to start a new life. What was it like for her to live in a new county, while still remembering the places and the past she had left behind?
Kathy Thomsen
Library Director
Lexington Public Library
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