EarlyWord

It’s every historian’s dream to uncover a little-known, but significant historical event.  Daniel Rasmussen, achieved that goal early. As a student at Harvard, he was intrigued by a three-sentence reference to a slave march on New Orleans in 1811 and began investigating it for his senior thesis. It turns out that this was the largest slave revolt in American history. Over 100 of the slaves were killed by local planters who decapitated them, put their heads on pikes and hung their corpses on the gates of the city. Now, Rasmussen has written a book about that story.

In an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered last night (listen to it here), Rasmussen says the fact that we don’t know this story represents “…one of the most significant moments of political amnesia in our nation’s history.” The events were immediately covered up because, “…if the planters acknowledge that slaves are people with real political ideals…it undermines the entire ideology that underlaid slavery.”

Rasmussen  wants people to know this “…story of heroism, another side of slave history…What I am trying to do, is not only bring you their story…but to think of these enslaved men and women as people who contributed to American history, who fought and died for their beliefs and who were heroic.”

American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt Daniel Rasmussen Retail Price: $26.99 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Harper – (2011-01-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061995215 / 9780061995217

OverDrive: Adobe EPUB eBook

Leave it to Ron Reagan, the late president’s son, to give us an unvarnished view of My Father at 100, published to coincide with the Reagan Sr.’s birth on February 6. The news media is ablaze with the information that the younger Reagan says his father showed signs of Alzheimer’s while he was still in office, causing his half-brother Michael to call him an “embarrassment.”

The L.A. Times review reveals more personal issues:

One of the lessons here is that no father can be an uncomplicated hero to his own son. . .  His book is less concerned with ideological differences than the pains and wonders of family entanglement. “You’re my son, so I have to love you. But sometimes you make it very hard to like you,” his father tells him.

By the end of this memoir, the son finds in his father,

…something carefully guarded, ice-cold yet unstoppable, fused together with a relentless self-mythologizing tendency: “He was the solitary storyteller whose great opus, religiously tended always, was his own self.”

Libraries we checked have orders in line with modest reserves to date.

My Father at 100 Ron Reagan Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Viking Adult – (2011-01-18) ISBN / EAN: 0670022594 / 9780670022595

• Large Print: Thorndike Press, ISBN 9781410434371; $32.99
• CD: Blackstone Audiobooks, ISBN 9781441771858; $32.95
• MP3: Blackstone Audiobooks, ISBN 9781441771865; $29.95
• Playaway: Blackstone Audiobooks, ISBN 9781441771896; $64.99

Other Notable Nonfiction on Sale This Week

The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960 by Douglas Brinkley (Harper) gets a good review from Kirkus: “Brinkley systematically works through the milestones of Alaskan preservation, including the moving paintings by Rockwell Kent and photographs by Ansel Adams, Adolph Murie’s fight for the wolves, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas’ position as the “leading light of the wilderness movement” during the New Deal, and writings by the Beats such as Gary Snyder.”

The New Reagan Revolution: How Ronald Reagan’s Principles Can Restore America’s Greatness by Michael Reagan with Jim Denney (Thomas Dunne) outlines the elements of the former president’s political plan that his older son says is as relevant today as in 1976.

It’s always heartening to see a good short story collection generate some heat. Last week, New York Times critic Janet Maslin singled out Siobhan Fallon‘s tales of military families on the edge in Fort Hood, Texas, You Know When the Men Are Gone, calling it a ” brief, tight collection — and there’s not a loser in the bunch.”

Male soldiers and their families are at the center of most of the stories, punctuated by sharply observed detail. As Maslin observes, one character is “haunted by the Grimm fairy tales that his daughter reads because his own life is full of latter-day versions of them. Why is the story of starving Hansel and Gretel any worse than that of a young Army corporal killed three days before he was due to see his wife and newborn baby?”

At libraries we checked, orders are in line with modest holds.

You Know When the Men Are Gone Siobhan Fallon Retail Price: $23.95 Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam – (2011-01-20) ISBN / EAN: 0399157204 / 9780399157202

Usual Suspects

Call Me Irresistible: A Novel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Morrow) follows the romantic and comedic fallout of a small town, high profile wedding canceled at the last minute. LJ raves: “Phillips has the ability to drill down into her characters’ motivations, while conveying their stories with sensitivity and laugh-out-loud humor. Consistently remarkable, she’s done it again.”  Phillips’s editor talks about it in Editors’ Book Buzz.

Strategic Moves by Stuart Woods (Putnam) is the 19th novel featuring quasi-secret agent and lawyer Stone Barrington. Kirkus says, “Woods, who evidently writes to a precise word length without bothering with beginnings and endings, delivers loads of juicy complications but no payoffs.”

Shadowfever (Fever Series #5) by Karen Marie Moning (Delacorte) is the latest in the bestselling romantic fantasy series. On Amazon, it’s currently #5 in Romance, #23 in Contemporary Fantasy, and #54 overall.

The Orchid Affair (Pink Carnation Series #8) by Lauren Willig is the eight installment in the romantic spy series set in Napoleonic France. Booklist calls it “another delightfully delectable adventure from Willig, who expands her rich, appealing stable of characters with each entry.”

The cover of Sunday’s NYT Book Review goes to the first book from a new literary imprint at the U. of North Carolina at Wilmington, Lookout Books. The book, a collection of short stories by respected author Edith Pearlman, will also be reviewed in the L.A. Times (via Shelf Awareness).

Binocular Vision: New & Selected Stories Edith Pearlman, Ann Patchett (introduction) Retail Price: $18.95 Paperback: 392 pages Publisher: Lookout Books – (2011-01-11) ISBN / EAN: 0982338295 / 9780982338292

The book is owned in relatively few public libraries, despite a starred review from Booklist, which ended with,

Give this wonderful collection to fans of such classic short story writers as Andre Dubus and Alice Munro and novelists like Nicole Krauss. They will thank you.

Not so long ago, publishers had ample proof that Americans weren’t interested in books translation, even international best sellers. When Knopf introduced the first book in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series, a 100,000 copy first printing was considered risky. It’s amusing to look back to EarlyWord‘s first story about the book, a month before The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was released, when most libraries had ordered it modestly and some not at all. Today, over two years later, most large library systems own upwards of 300 copies and holds ratios are averaging 3:1.

Larsson continues to make news. Just this week,

• the New Yorker tackles the question, “what accounts for the success of [Larsson’s] novels despite their almost comical faults?”

• W Magazine features a photo spread on the English-language movie version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, coming to theaters in December

• the latest Scandinavian import, Three Seconds, lands on the upcoming New York Times fiction best seller list at #9 (tied with #8) in its first week of publication.

• Larsson’s partner of 32 years, Eva Gabrielsson says she hopes to finish a fourth volume in the series.

Looks like we won’t stop talking about Larsson any time soon.

Making a giant leap on Amazon sales rankings is Phil & Kaja Foglio’s Agatha H. and the Airship City, the latest in the Girl Genius series, currently at #38, the highest rank to date for a title in the series. The authors nudged this along by proclaiming yesterday “Girl Genius Day” and asking fans to place orders on the new book’s release day, making it soar up the list. A similar tactic was used successfully last fall by the authors of Machine of Death.

I’m not a fan of these efforts to manipulate the lists, but I do love the series — it’s a smart combination of steampunk adventure, humor, and just a touch of romance. Up to now, the series has appeared in comic format, with the previous volumes collected as graphic novels. The new installment, however, is a prose novel.

The series has a devoted fan following. Teens and adults enjoy the derring-do and rich world-building the series excels at, including elaborate Victorian gadgets and believably complicated political struggles. The volumes I’ve managed to collect circulate very well in my library’s teen collection.

I’d love to give the comic series a whole-hearted recommendation, but it’s difficult to buy any but the most recent volumes via library vendors. Also, unfortunately, the bindings don’t hold up to frequent library use.

You can try to get older volumes through other sellers that list on Amazon, if your library is set up to order from them.

Agatha H. and the Airship City (Girl Genius) Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 264 pages Publisher: Night Shade Books – (2011-01-01) ISBN / EAN: 1597802115 / 9781597802116

It’s become a tradition. The Tuesday after the Newbery/Caldecott Awards are announced, the winners, along with the YALSA or ALA president, are guests on the Today Show.

But the only author on the show this Tuesday was MTV Jersey Shore star Snooki, for her debut novel, A Shore Thing.

Publishers Weekly reports that, in response to inquiries, the Today show said they turned down the segment this year because of a a “lack of interest and scheduling problems,” but asserted that the show “does more book segments in a given year than any other television show,” and “supports the publishing industry with initiatives like Al’s Book Club for Kids and Read for the Record.”

Below is last year’s show:

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And, here’s Snooki:

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The Today Show missed an opportinity; in libraries that own copies of A Shore Thing, holds are much lower than for Moon Over Manifest or for A Sick Day for Amos McGee.

After a long wait, HBO has finally announced that the ten-part series based on George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones will begin on April 17.

Official Web Site: HBO.com/GameOfThrones

The film adaptation of best selling British novel, One Day, originally planned for the fall, has been moved to July 8th. The move is seen as a vote of confidence for the indie film, as it now competes against blockbuster carry-overs from the previous July 4th weekend.

Directed by Lone Scherfig, who made her reputation with 2009’s An Education. Starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, One Day follows the lives of the characters, from the college graduation night they spend together, through the subsequent 20 years, revisiting them each year on July 15.

The book, which sold well here, was a phenomenon in the U.K. (see The Guardian, David Nicholls: why he made the headlines in 2010).

One Day (Vintage Contemporaries Original) David Nicholls Retail Price: $14.95 Paperback: 448 pages Publisher: Vintage – (2010-06-15) ISBN / EAN: 0307474712 / 9780307474711

Fans of Noomi Repace, who plays Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish films of The Millennium series, have not embraced the idea of an American actress replacing her in the English-language versions.

Their concerns may be laid to rest by the new issue of W magazine, on newsstands Jan. 25, featuring an early look at Mara Rooney in the role. Clearly, she has shed her college girl image from The Social Network. It is also clear that the movie will get the full Hollywood treatment.

The accompanying article says the script,

…departs rather dramatically from the book. Blomkvist is less promiscuous, Salander is more aggressive, and, most notably, the ending—the resolution of the drama—has been completely changed. This may be sacrilege to some, but [scriptwriter] Zaillian has improved on Larsson—the script’s ending is more interesting.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is scheduled for release in December.

USA Today features the cover, title and first chapter of of Rick Riordan’s second book in the The Kane Chronicles, releasing May 3.

The Throne of Fire again features the son and daughter of an Egyptologist, who  “…embark on a worldwide search for the Book of Ra, but the House of Life and the gods of chaos are determined to stop them.” (Publisher’s annotation).

The Washington Post, says the Susan Vreeland’s new novel, Clara and Mr. Tiffany,

… brims with fascinating information about Tiffany’s glassmaking and about New York as its gilded age gives way to a more progressive era. Clara stands at the story’s center as a woman ahead of her time, a female artist who mentors others and demands equality.

Clara Driscoll was the unwitting “good woman” behind the “great man,” Louis C. Tiffany. She was the one who invented to process for making the famous Tiffany lamps. Her contribution was only recently recognized, serving as the inspiration for this book.

People magazine gives the book 4 of a possible 4 stars in the current issue and Vreeland was interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany Susan Vreeland Retail Price: $26.00 Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Random House – (2011-01-11) ISBN / EAN: 1400068169 / 9781400068166

Thorndike Large Print; (January 26, 2011); 9781410434234; $33.99
Random House Audio; UNABR; 9780307876706; $45.00

If you haven’t already, you are likely to hear a great deal about a book released yesterday, which describes the traditional Chinese approach to child rearing, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua. On NPR’s Fresh Air on Monday, Maureen Corrigan predicted,

…Battle Hymn is going to be a book club and parenting blog phenomenon; there will be fevered debate over Chua’s tough love strategies, which include ironclad bans on such Western indulgences as sleepovers, play dates, and any extracurricular activities except practicing musical instruments … which must be the violin or piano.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Amy Chua Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The – (2011-01-11) ISBN / EAN: 1594202842 / 9781594202841

Penguin Audio; UNABR; 6 Hours; 5 CDs; ISBN 9780142429105; $29.95

That’s happening already. An excerpt from the book in the Wall Street Journal, with the challenging title, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” appeared over the weekend and became the top-read story. It is being discussed widely, in blogs and articles, from The New Yorker to the Guardian in the UK, which calls it “one of the most controversial books of 2011.” It is currently at #6 on Amazon’s sales rankings and library holds are rising rapidly.

Chua appeared on the Today Show on Monday. Her upcoming book tour should be fun.

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This is Chua’s third book. Her previous titles have been on international policy. Tiger Mother made news when it was acquired last year, for a rumored high six figures.

They did it again — the Newbery and Caldecott committees outwitted prognosticators and gave their highest awards to unexpected titles. In both cases, they are debut titles.

Newbery

Moon Over Manifest Clare Vanderpool Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers – (2010-10-12) ISBN / EAN: 0385738838 / 9780385738835

The Newbery Medal was the biggest surprise, going to the debut Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool, Delacorte/Random. Currently out of stock, it also caught the publisher and wholesalers by surprise. Amazon, where it quickly shot up to #11 from #31,660 in sales rankings, is currently showing a week to 3 weeks for delivery. Of the 15 year-end best books lists, it appeared on only one, the Kirkus list.

The front-runner on many Mock Newbery‘s and the top title on best books lists, One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia (Amistad/HarperCollins) was named as one of four honor books and won the Coretta Scott King Author Award.

Caldecott

A Sick Day for Amos McGee Philip Christian Stead Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Roaring Brook Press – (2010-05-25) ISBN / EAN: 1596434023 / 9781596434028

The Caldecott Medal winner, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead (Roaring Brook/Macmillan), was on just 4 of 15 best books lists. The top contenders for this award were considered to be City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems, illustrated by Jon Muth (Hyperion) and Art & Max, written and illustrated by David Wiesner (Clarion/HMH). Neither received a nod as an honor book.

Printz

Ship Breaker Paolo Bacigalupi Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2010-05-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316056219 / 9780316056212

The Printz winner was less of a surprise. It went to Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown/Hachette), a book that enjoyed a great deal of buzz at PLA this year. The award brings the book to its highest ranking yet on Amazon, from #7,884 before the announcement, to #233 yesterday.

Alex Awards

Among the Alex Awards, for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences, are several titles we’ve written about extensively on EarlyWord,

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Aimee Bender, (Doubleday/Random); librarians embraced this book after it was presented in the PLA Buzz session in March; the publisher credits librarian support for making the book a NYT best seller.

Room, Emma Donoghue, (Little, Brown/ Hachette); librarians buzzed about this book at BEA back in May. It went on to be a finalist for the Booker Award and is still on the NYT best seller list after 10 weeks. It was also selected as a RUSA Notable Book.

The Radleys, Matt Haig, (Free Press/S&S); this comic twist on a vampire tale arrived in the U.S. less than a month ago. In the UK, it was published as both an adult and a YA title.

Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok, (Riverhead/ Penguin); The author appeared at the ALTAFF First Author, First Book program at ALA in June.

Link to the full ALA Youth Media Awards here.

USA Today’s “Book Buzz” column reports that the majority of Mock Newbery’s are going to Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer.

Going against the tide, the Banks Street College kids (96 fifth and sixth graders), discussed and voted on a list of titles and picked Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper as the winner of their Mock Newbery.

Out of My Mind Sharon M. Draper Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Atheneum – (2010-03-09) ISBN / EAN: 141697170X / 9781416971702

Sam, 10 – liked that the story came out of the main character’s mind…that was interesting.

Alexandra, 10 – the story was touching and pulled you in and you wanted to read it all at once

Adam, 10 – you really saw how mean people can be to people who are different. Being disabled is not being stupid.

Carly, 10 – even though she went through tough stuff, she kept trying

Ayra, 10 – because I heard her story from her, it was like being in her shoes

Allie, 10 – I have never read a book like this

Jenna, 11 – it was really detailed and I felt a lot of emotion

Hazel, 12 – …dramatic- felt like a light read…I read fast…It was real.

Casy, 11 -…it touched me deep down. I felt real emotion. My heart was bursting for her.

Francesca, 11– it was cool how that over the time I could see her change and do things

Emily, 11 – I could not let this book go.

Ava, 11 – really realistic and unique. I liked that we could see inside her head. It was bittersweet.

Jules, 11 – there was a mix of emotions, I burst out laughing. The language was juicy.

Evie, 11 – it was great. I felt like I was reading her mind.

Eliana, 11 – it was a fantastic book.

Ghopal, 11 – I disagree. It was perfectly long

Maggie, 12 – draws you in fast. I liked the flashbacks. You really felt her frustration and wanted to scream with her.

Lauren, 12 – really good…I made a connection with her. Her thoughts were just regular.

Joshua, 11 – Original…great first person

Honor Books

Belly Up Stuart Gibbs Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing – (2010-05-18) ISBN / EAN: 1416987312 / 9781416987314

Casy, 11 – fantabulous mystery – funny, cliffhangers…didn’t want it to end.

Imani, 10 – good interesting mystery. Cliffhanging a lot.

Ava, 10 – better than other mystery books. Characters were real

Adam, 10 – Kept you on your toes. A fun read.
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The Search for WondLa Tony DiTerlizzi Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing – (2010-09-21) ISBN / EAN: 1416983104 / 9781416983101

Dax, 10 – long, unexpected , good descriptions

Sam, 10 – it was a mystery and a fantasy. Satisfying and had many characters and places you wouldn’t expect.

Laura 12 – a whole made up world. Plot was good and characters weren’t human but you could relate to them.

Adrian 12 – I really enjoyed the references and connections to other children’s books.

Patrick 12 – took me awhile to get into it but I stuck with it and now can’t wait for the next book.

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The Strange Case of Origami Yoda Tom Angleberger Retail Price: $12.95 Hardcover: 160 pages Publisher: Amulet Books – (2010-03-01) ISBN / EAN: 0810984253 / 9780810984257

Bobby, 12 – Different than all the other books we read this year

Ali, 12 – I didn’t think I would like this book that seemed random about a finger puppet but I did.

Kerem, 12 – something any student around my age would relate to. It was wack and crazy

Louis, 11 – Everything comes together in the end

Irene, 11 – Funny to boys and girls

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A Whole Nother Story Dr. Cuthbert Soup Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books – (2009-12-22) ISBN / EAN: 1599904357/9781599904351

Anya, 11 – really funny, not predictable

Adrien – Had a little bit of everything – adventure , fantasy, from the first moment draws you in – liked the dark grim humor.

Eric – made you want to keep reading

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Half Upon a Time James Riley Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 400 pages Publisher: Aladdin – (2010-09-07) ISBN / EAN: 1416995935 / 9781416995937

Donnie, 11 – Most fairy tales are boring. This one was different. Didn’t have a happily ever after ending.

Hazel, 12 – I stayed up all night reading

Evie, 12– well done. I didn’t get bored.

Sophie, 10 – I was entertained…a new creative story from old stories

Raymond, 11 – Funny , creative with a big twist

Ghopal, 12 – I enjoyed the writing style especially the humorous asides

Josua, 11 – Corny, but funny and creative.