I spent last weekend in blazing hot Las Vegas at the American Library Association’s annual conference. Between attending workshops and author signings, I got up bright and early Monday morning to attend the Harper Collins Book Buzz event, since I am a Super Reader for their Voyager imprint. I blogged about their fall fiction catalogue last week, and here’s your sneak peak at the non-fiction list:
Tinseltown by William J. Mann. Described by the publicist as “The Devil in the White City for Hollywood,” Tinseltown chronicles the rise of the studio system in Roaring Twenties Los Angeles. Author William J. Mann, who has previously written about Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Barbara Streisand, reopens the mystery of the unsolved murder of Motion Picture Directors Association president William Desmond Taylor, drawing on newly released FBI case files. Recommended for fans of Nathanael West and Erik Larson, Tinseltown hits the shelves October 14, 2014.
GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi. After the United States joined WWII, more than a million American soldiers passed through Britain on their way to the continent. GI Brides follows the lives of four English women who fell in love with some of these men, and moved across the ocean to America, where they began new lives in an unfamiliar culture with husbands they barely knew. Available on September 2, 2014, GI Brides is suggested for fans of The Astronaut Wives Club and The Girls of the Atomic City.
A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel takes on the story of Reggie Shaw, a nineteen-year-old college student from Utah whose momentary inattention behind the wheel caused an accident that took the lives of two scientists. This texting-and-driving accident changes Shaw’s life forever, and Richtel follows him through the investigation and court case, to his advocacy for Utah’s distracted driving laws, while also examining the cognitive science behind attention and distraction. Look for A Deadly Wandering in stores on September 23, 2014.
The Return of George Washington by Edward J. Larson. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward J. Larson is the first scholar-in-residence at the new George Washington Presidential Library. Recommended for fans of David McCullough, The Return of George Washington focuses on the period between 1873 and 1879, and Washington’s decision to come out of retirement in order to lead the Constitutional Convention, and eventually become the first President of the United States. Available October 7, 2014.
Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin. World War II veteran Louis Zamperini’s story became famous with Laura Hillenbrand’s 2009 bestseller Unbroken, which is now being made into a film directed and produced by Angelina Jolie. After crash landing in the Pacific and surviving days lost at sea, Zamperini spent two years in a Japanese POW camp. This title won’t be for everyone, as it has a strong focus on Zamperini’s Christian faith, but fans of Unbroken won’t want to miss Zamperini’s first book about his own experiences, especially after the author passed away on July 2, 2014. Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In comes out November 18, 2014.
The Wild Truth by Carine McCandless. Chris McCandless’ life and death in the Alaskan wilderness became famous with Jon Krakauer’s 1996 bestseller Into the Wild. Sean Penn reignited interest in 2007 with his film of the same name. In The Wild Truth, Chris’ sister Carine McCandless shares the dysfunctional childhood that gives context to her brother’s unbelievable decision to give away his savings, and disappear into the wilderness on a journey of self discovery. Available October 21, 2014.
These and a number of other interesting-looking non-fiction titles will be available from Harper Collins this fall. Check back next week to hear about some of the great fall titles coming from other publishers in 2014.
Required Reading 