Letters Home: A Family's History Made Personal and Real

"As Ever, Bill."
On Thursday April 17, we at the East Hampton Public Library were delighted, proud, and deeply moved to receive a new addition to our book collection.

In this book, As Ever, Bill: Letters Home -- a series of over 300 letters written between January 1943 and December 1945 -- East Hampton son William R. Knotek chronicled his service as 1st Lieutenant in the First Fighter Squadron Second Air Commando Group, United States Army Air Corp. Lt. Knotek also served in the 4th Combat Cargo Squadron. Both units participated in the China Burma India Theater of World War II.

Letters Home: A Pilot's Journey
Lt. Knotek served in the Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the United States Air Force. His letters offer first-person insights on what it was like to train on and fly premiere aircraft of the day and his experiences undertaking World War II Air Corp assignments. As with every active service soldier, caring for family and connection to home shine through.

Left to Right: Theresa K. Schlosser,
Jeanette Knotek, Robin Knotek Bova,
William Richard Knotek

Letters Home: A Family's Gift
In an electronic age -- the age of quick pics, 140 characters, and Hope U R well messages -- writing letters may seem to be old fashioned or passé. We think not and the Knotek Family may very well help change the view.

As Ever, Bill: Letters Home is currently included in our new book collection. The book circulates for 14 days. Enjoy this important slice of local and world history made personal and real.

Memorial Day 2013

War and Remembrance
In the week leading up to Memorial Day, we offer suggestions for thoughtful reading, listening, and viewing.

Books and Reading
Observe Memorial Day with a great book. Recently published titles, fiction and non-fiction:

Cronkite's War : His World War II Letters Home
Amercian Sniper by Chris Kyle
Trident K-9 Warriors : My Tales from the Training Ground to the Battlefield with Elite Navy SEAL Canines by Mike Ritland
Blackhorse Riders : a Desperate Last Stand, an Extraordinary Rescue Mission, and the Vietnam Battle America Forgot by Philip A. Keith
The Long Walk : a Story of War and the Life that Follows by Brian Castner
Shade It Black : Death and After in Iraq by Jess Goodell
Those Who Have Borne the Battle : a History of America's Wars and Those Who Fought Them by James Wright
The Girls of Atomic City : the Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II  by Denise Kiernan
The Secrets of Mary Bowser : a Novel by Lois Leveen
Blood of War by Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice (Red Dragon Rising Series, 4)
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes


Image courtesy of
Wikipedia

On DVD
Quick list 25 regarded films :
The Big Red One -- The Messenger -- South Pacific -- Tora! Tora! Tora! -- Mr. Roberts -- Black Hawk Down -- Platoon -- Saving Private Ryan -- Flags of Our Fathers -- Glory -- They Were Expendable -- Patton -- From Here to Eternity -- Boy in the Striped Pajamas -- The Great Escape -- Bridge on the River Kwai -- M*A*S*H -- Red Badge of Courage -- Deer Hunter -- Thin Red Line -- Hurt Locker -- Full Metal Jacket -- Paths of Glory -- Midway -- Gallipoli

Fiction for Youth
Vietnam (Series) by Chris Lynch
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Once by Morris Gleitzman
Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis

Books for Kids
Memorial Day by Robin Nelson
Memorial Day Surprise by Theresa Martin Golding
Memorial Day by Amy Margaret
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Wee Sing America by Pamela Conn Beall and Susan Hagen Nipp
Knit Your Bit : a World War I Story by Deborah Hopkinson
Dogs on Duty : Soldiers' Best Friends on the Battlefield and Beyond by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
War Horse or Shadow by Michael Morpurgo
Nurse, Soldier, Spy : the Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss
Phantoms in the Snow by Kathleen Benner Duble

Reading True Crime

Just the Facts, Ma'am
Greed, deceit, desire, ambition, corruption, murder  -- these are all elements in true crime books which much like ubiquitous TV crime shows and films, receive a fair amount of attention.

For fans of the genre, a quick list of the latest best of the worst:

Whitey Bulger : America's Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt that Brought Him to Justice by Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy
The story of a legendary criminal, captured in June 2011 after a sixteen-year manhunt.

American Desperado : My Life, from Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset by Jon Roberts and Evan Wright
A Mafia insider and former head smuggler for the Medellin cartel describes his violent relationships with criminal powers, his alliance with the U.S. government, and his role in reshaping the nation's war on drugs.

The Inventor and the Tycoon : a Gilded Age Murder and the Birth of Moving Pictures by Edward Ball
This historical true crime entry details the strange partnership between a 19th century entrepreneur and the father of moving pictures.

Octopus : Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street's Wildest Con by Guy Lawson
For this wild tale of hedge fund fraud, keep your aluminum foil hat handy.

Nobody Walks : Bringing My Brother's Killers to Justice by Dennis M. Walsh
The driving story of the author's relentless quest to stop his brother's murder from becoming a cold case.

A Death in the Lucky Holiday Hotel : Murder, Money, and an Epic Power Struggle in China by Pin Ho, Wenguang Huang
A real-life murder mystery with a political overlay.

Desert Reckoning : a Town Sheriff, a Mojave Hermit, and the Biggest Manhunt in Modern California History by Deanne Stillman
The author recounts clash and deadly collision in the desolate California desert.

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace by Roya Hakakian
Who was responsible for the machine-gun murders of protesters in a Berlin restaurant? Opinions varied, but the federal prosecutor would charge on to a clear verdict.

Caveat Emptor : the Secret Life of an American Art Forger by Ken Perenyi
The author confesses; tells all with "inside" stories. A useful book for any art fan, including flea market shoppers.

Life After Death by Damien Echols
A West Memphis Three member's account of his eighteen-year death row incarceration discusses justice system flaws that led to his conviction, the abuses he suffered in prison, and the trio's vindication in 2011.

People... People Who Read People

Biography and Memoir
If you are sometimes fascinated with famous people in history, sports, literature, or popular culture -- or are always up for reading a compelling memoir -- here's a few short lists of selections worth considering.

Hello, Sports Fans!
Terry 'Tito' Francona led the 2004 Red Sox to the team's first World Series victory since 1918. Mike  Piazza's autobiography endured more than a little criticism over on Baseball Nation. "Big Bad Bruin" Derek 'Turk' Sanderson's autobiography is bound for big-screen movie treatment. Retired Tennessee Vols coach Pat Summitt's autobiography is also available, just in time for NCAA tournament season, aka March Madness.

Singers, Songwriters, Actors, Gurus
From serious to dishy, read the latest on Barbra Streisand, Rita Moreno, Penny Marshall, Andrew McCarthy, Bruce Lee [video], Valerie Harper, Dennis Hopper, Leonard Cohen, or Clive Davis.

Writing Lives
Buzz has it that Syliva Plath's semi-autobiographical classic, The Bell Jar, will be movie-converted soon. The greater buzz relates to a new book cover, created in line with the 50th anniversary of the book's publication. Chuckles for the mashups. Read about Plath's life in several great books.

Louisa May Alcott devotees will find much to enjoy in Marmee & Louisa by Eve LaPlante. Pair this one with Eden's Outcasts by John Matteson.

Lastly, if you don't know much about celebrated and controversial French author George Sand, or her oh-so notorious 19th century love life, spend a little page time with The Last Love of George Sand.

In My Life
Each of these memoirs might find a place on your must-read list.

The Backyard Parables by Margaret Roach (reflections on gardening)
Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless (dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship)
Dwarf : a Memoir by Tiffanie DiDonato ("adapting to a world when it won't adapt to you.."
The Heavy : a Mother, a Daughter, a Diet -- a Memoir by Dara-Lynn Weiss (bookend to Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother)
Her : a Memoir by Christa Parravani (achingly brilliant memoir of enduring love, loss, and identical twins)
Raising Cubby : a Father and Son's Adventures with Asperger's, Trains, Tractors, and High Explosives by John Elder Robison (Aspergian father raising his Aspergian son)
Shouting Won't Help : Why I - and 50 Million Other Americans - Can't Hear You by Katherine Bouton (a personal and public discussion of hearing loss)
A Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp (emotionally fearless and loving reflections on raising a little boy with a fatal disorder)
Still Points North by Leigh Newman (growing up in the wilds of Alaska)
The Ordinary Acrobat : a Journey Into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present by Duncan Wall (from Ringling Brothers to Cirque du Soleil, join the circus with a turn of a page)

Reading Rock...

Who Are They?
Who? Who?
Welcome a bunker crop of bios and rock memoirs, and excepting Ozzy's, all with highly inventive black and white cover photos!  Read 'em and rock...

Neil Young -- Bruce Springsteen -- Pete Townshend -- Gregg Allman -- Metallica -- Mick Jagger -- Ozzy Ozbourne -- Carole King.

Telling Stories...

Reading Memoirs
Memoirs are immensely popular and can sometimes go a long way in helping us illuminate our own lives.

We offer a quick roundup of memoirs published this year. Several have achieved best-seller status and/or critical acclaim. Click on a title for book descriptions and reviews. As a lead in, you might enjoy an article about the history of memoirs, courtesy of The New Yorker.

Sharp by David Fitzpatrick

Dan Gets a Minivan by Dan Zevin

A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez

Dropped Names by Frank Langella

By the Iowa Sea by Joe Blair

The Cost of Hope by Amanda Bennett

Full Body Burden by Kristin Iversen

Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

The Great Northern Express by Howard Frank Mosher

Dying To Be Me by Anita Moorjani

Burn Down the Ground by Kambri Crews

Bloom : Finding Beauty in the Unexpected by Kelle Hampton

No Cheating, No Dying. I Had a Good Marriage Then I Tried to Make It Better by Elizabeth Weil

MWF Seeking BFF : My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

People Who Eat Darkness : the True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo and the Evil that Swallowed Her Up by Richard Lloyd Parry

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Paris : A Love Story by Kati Marton

Reading Your Way Around the World

A Short Trip Through Recent Books

Find memoirs, reportage, and literary flavor in this short list of recent non-fiction, compiled by library staff member Phil Carr.  Great reads, all.

Key West : Mile Marker Zero by William McKeen

Haiti : Haiti After the Earthquake by Paul Farmer

England : Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh

Italy : Extra Virginity : the Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller

Kenya : You Will See Fire by Christopher Goffard

Somalia : The Pirates of Somalia : Inside Their Hidden World by Jay Bahadur

Zimbabwe : Cocktail Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller

Pakistan : Buried in the Sky : the Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan

India : Behind the Beautiful Forevers : Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo