August 23, 2025
August is a month where what’s happening depends on where you live. Some of the country is back in school --- cue cute kids in first-day-of-school outfits with their chalkboard dreams on social media. Others are trudging home from camp with dirty laundry and heading to family summer vacation.
As I live in the New York area, I think of September as the month for a mini-reset. It does not bring the resolutions of January, but there are renewed goals. One might be “never miss book group” or “be sure to read the book.”
Editorial Content for The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Bestselling author and journalist Garrett M. Graff produced an engrossing oral history of D-Day, WHEN THE SEA CAME ALIVE, which released in 2024. Read More
Teaser
The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, 80 years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific. THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices and choices that will transform the course of history. Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries and transcripts from across the US, Japan and Europe, Garrett M. Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown.
Promo
The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, 80 years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific. THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices and choices that will transform the course of history. Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries and transcripts from across the US, Japan and Europe, Garrett M. Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown.
About the Book
On the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the Pulitzer Prize finalist whose work is “oral history at its finest” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) delivers an epic narrative of the atomic bomb’s creation and deployment, woven from the voices of hundreds of scientists, generals, soldiers and civilians.
The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, 80 years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific, a conflict that already had stretched from Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. As Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen fight those battles, men and women strive to discover the atom’s secrets at laboratories and plants in places like Chicago, Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Hanford and Los Alamos. On August 6, 1945, the world discovers what the end of the war --- and the new global age --- will look like. Science and politics will never be the same again.
The road to the first atomic bomb ends in Hiroshima, Japan, but it begins in Hitler’s Europe, where brilliant physicists following the path that Einstein blazed are forced to flee fascism and antisemitism --- bringing to America their determination to harness atomic power before it falls into the Führer’s arsenal. THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY traces the breakthroughs and the breakneck pace of atomic development in the years leading up to 1945, then takes us inside the B-29 bombers carrying Little Boy and Fat Man and finally to ground zero at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff, THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices and choices that will transform the course of history. Theorists and engineers dare to experiment with forces of terrifying power for the purpose of creating an atomic bomb, knowing each passing day costs soldiers’ lives --- but fearing too the consequences of their creation. Hundreds of thousands of workers toil around the clock to produce uranium and plutonium in an endeavor so classified that most people involved learn the reality of their effort only when it is announced on the radio by President Truman. The 509th Composite Group trains for a mission whose details are kept a mystery until shortly before takeoff, when the Enola Gay and Bockscar are loaded with bombs the crew has never seen. And the civilians of two Japanese cities that have been spared American attacks --- preserved for the sake of judging the power of the bomb on an intact city --- escape their pulverized homes into a greater hellscape.
Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries and transcripts from across the US, Japan and Europe, Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown --- key figures like J. Robert Oppenheimer, General Leslie Groves and President Truman; the crews of the B-29 bombers; and the haunting stories of the Hibakusha --- the “bomb-affected people.” Both a testament to human ingenuity and resilience and a compelling drama told by the participants who lived it, THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is a singular, profound and searing book about the inception of our most powerful weapon and its haunting legacy.
Audiobook available, read by Edoardo Ballerini and a full cast
Editorial Content for Hatchet Girls: A Hap and Leonard Novel
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are an inseparable pair who have tangled with more than a few formidable adversaries. Still, they have their work cut out for them when they must corral an out-of-control 400-pound pig for a client and manage to barely escape with their lives. The fruits of their labor are bruises and a wrecked house for their client. Read More
Teaser
When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge. The timing couldn't be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case. Both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives. Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with his fiancée, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group's mission and the plans they already have set in place for helter-skelter-esque mayhem.
Promo
When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge. The timing couldn't be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case. Both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives. Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with his fiancée, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group's mission and the plans they already have set in place for helter-skelter-esque mayhem.
About the Book
Your next dose of pitch-black comedy, mystery and mayhem has arrived as Hap and Leonard find themselves in a vicious and ridiculous situation --- just as the best friends may finally be calling it quits.
When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge.
The timing couldn't be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case. Both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives. Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with his fiancée, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group's mission and the plans they already have set in place for helter-skelter-esque mayhem.
Life changes, midnight sneaks and dark encounters with misguided dames who yell "Chop, Chop" lead Hap and Leonard into one of their darkest adventures yet.
Audiobook available, read by Christopher Ryan Brandt
Editorial Content for The Surrogate Mother
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In her Author’s Note that opens THE SURROGATE MOTHER, Freida McFadden points out that her readers can count on her psychological thrillers never to contain gratuitous sex scenes or anything too gory. To be perfectly honest, her intricately plotted novels do not need any of that. The payoff lies in the fact that we must follow along very closely to pick up on each and every clue, red herring and plot twist that will lead to the ultimate reveal. Read More
Teaser
Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant, Monica, makes a generous offer to serve as a surrogate. It's an offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true. But soon, strange things start happening. And it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Promo
Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant, Monica, makes a generous offer to serve as a surrogate. It's an offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true. But soon, strange things start happening. And it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
About the Book
Editorial Content for Hemlock and Silver
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
The work of T. Kingfisher has run the gamut from dark fantasy to horror, often within the same novel, and her respect for and devotion to classic gothic fairy tales always rings true with each story she tells. Her latest effort, HEMLOCK & SILVER, draws heavily from “Snow-White and Rose-Red” with a smattering of THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, all to terrific effect that will have readers squealing with delight. Read More
Teaser
Healer Anja regularly drinks poison. Not to die, but to save --- seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on. But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her. Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick. Or it might be the thing that kills them all.
Promo
Healer Anja regularly drinks poison. Not to die, but to save --- seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on. But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her. Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick. Or it might be the thing that kills them all.
About the Book
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes HEMLOCK & SILVER, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue and treason of the most magical kind.
Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.
Not to die, but to save --- seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.
But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.
Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.
Or it might be the thing that kills them all.
Audiobook available, read by Jennifer Pickens












