Chasing King's Killer

Beginning with a botched assassination attempt early in King's career, this book traces the events leading up to and following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Swanson provides a brief description of life in the Jim Crow south and traces the civil rights movement through 1967, the year prior to King's death.  He then switches gears to paint a picture of James Earl Ray and his escape from prison.

In great detail, Swanson recounts the events of King's last day and the subsequent manhunt for his killer.  Students who are interested in Dr. King or in true crime will devour James L. Swanson's newest offering.  It is perfectly paced and packed with details to make the people and events real to the reader.

Swanson concludes with a meditation on what Dr. King might think of the situation in America today thus giving contemporary context to events that may seem long ago to young readers.  Highly recommended!

The Magician and the Spirits

Deborah Noyes's biography of Harry Houdini focuses on the famous magician's thirty-year investigation of spiritualism and psychic phenomena.  Noyes rounds out the biography with brief information about Houdini's childhood and early career, but the real story here is the rise of spiritualism, the various methods employed by spirit mediums, and Houdini's dedication to debunking the movement. 

This was a fascinating read (perhaps more so because I was coincidentally reading a fiction book set during the same time period with a spiritualist subplot) with brief biographies of important players in the spiritualist movement, how they pulled off their seances and a deft explanation of why people took spiritualism to heart.

Noyes also threads in the story of Houdini's friendship/rivalry with Arthur Conan Doyle, a staunch believer in spiritualism.  Ultimately, their friendship fell apart because though they both wanted to believe in communication with the dead, Doyle refused to the see the truth, and Houdini could only see the tricks.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read.  Highly recommended!

The Plot to Kill Hitler

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor and a pacifist whose worldview was shaped by WWI and its outcome.  Even as a child, he was preoccupied with spiritual matters and a life beyond this earth.  As Hitler rose to power, he had a serious internal struggle about how to react.

Bonhoeffer was one of the first to get word of Hitler's atrocities to the world at large, but he soon realized spying would not be enough.  The thought of killing another person was horrifying to him, but he could not in good conscience allow Hitler to move forward with his plans for genocide.

I absolutely loved Patricia McCormick's tale of a man searching for spiritual enlightenment in one of the darkest times in our history.  To understand Bonhoeffer's conflict, you have to understand how he came to his religious convictions, and I am, unfortunately, afraid this may be a deterrent to some young readers, but for those who will invest in the story, this is truly a winner.  Highly recommended!

Florence Nightingale: The Courageous Life of the Legendary Nurse

This biography begins with young Florence, who was intelligent, curious, and a natural nurse.  Her interest in nursing continued into her young womanhood when she felt called by God to be a nurse.  Her family did not support this desire.

There were no professional nurses at the time and no formal training.  Plus, ladies of Nightingale's social class were not expected to work at all, let alone in the dirty hospitals where Flo wanted to venture.

Eventually, they relented, and Florence received what minimal training was available at the time.  She then secured a position for herself at Scutari, the British military hospital serving the injured soldiers of the Crimean war.  This is when she gained fame as the Lady of the Lamp and instituted reforms to try and save the men who were attempting to recover in filthy and overcrowded conditions.

Though she contracted a painful illness during her time at Scutari, Nightingale used her newfound fame to reform hospital care and train a new breed of nurses.  Many of her reforms and practices had lasting effects on the British health care system.

Catherine Reef's biography is an engaging and well-rounded portrait of the famous nurse.  Recommended.

Ten Days a Madwoman

Nellie Bly came to New York in 1887 determined to make her mark as a reporter.  She had some fame from her work in Pittsburgh, but that didn't get her far in New York.  She struggled to find employment in journalism which was largely a man's world.  Even when women could get jobs, it was only to write about fashion, children, and social events.
Nellie Bly refused to give up, and she finally got her big break to go undercover as a patient in a New York insane asylum.  It was a risky gambit.  She had to trust that her editors, men she barely knew, would be able to free her at some point.  Her descriptions of life inside the asylum are harrowing, and these stories put her on the national stage.

Author Deborah Noyes goes on to discuss other major stories like Bly's Around the World pieces where the author races to complete an around the world trip in fewer than 80 days.

I really enjoyed the layout of this book with short chapters, larger type, and sidebars with information about Bly's childhood.  It's not too challenging for more reluctant readers, and the title and premise should be enticing for everyone!