This week, we feature an intimate profile of two figures who loomed large during World War II and an informative how-to on becoming a master storyteller.
Mystery
‘The Crossroads’
By C.J. Box
In this book, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is not the detective. It opens with Joe shot, critically injured in an assassination attempt at a crossroad leading to three ranches. Joe Pickett spends most of the book comatose in a hospital critical care unit. His three now-adult daughters return home determined to uncover who ordered the hit. They know it was one of the sketchy families at the ranches the crossroad leads to. This is one of the most unusual and exciting books in this series.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2026, 352 pages
Nonfiction
‘Ike and Winston: World War, Cold War, and an Extraordinary Friendship’
By Jonathan W. Jordan
This biography of the friendship between Churchill and Eisenhower reveals their quarrels over certain objectives and strategies of World War II and the postwar years, while demonstrating that the rapport and respect between the two leaders remained intact. It’s also a fine account of the ambitions, virtues, and faults of each man individually during this same time period. Jordan’s easy style, aptitude for explanation, and occasional humor make this book a history buff’s delight.
Dutton, 2026, 576 pages
Writing
‘The Anatomy of Genres: How Story Forms Explain the Way the World Works’
By John Truby
Looking to become a better writer who has a strong grasp on genre? Then this book is a must-read. Or one could attend writing classes for a much higher price tag. Here, Truby breaks down numerous genres in the storytelling world. At a glance, the average person understands romance, adventure, horror genres, but rarely do they understand the rules and parameters of genre storytelling, much less how to create a successful read. This book is a major contribution to the world of future creatives.
Picador Paper, 2022, 720 pages
Space
‘The Spacelab Story: Science Aboard the Shuttle’
By Ben Evans
Between 1983 and 1996, Spacelab hardware gave NASA and the world a short-term, crewed, orbiting science laboratory. When Spacelab started in 1973, it was the first international space partnership. This book tells the Spacelab story from its early 1970s inception to its closing at the end of the 20th century. A comprehensive one-volume history, it covers every Spacelab mission and its accomplishments. Simultaneously, it is a story about science, people, and the promise of space. A rewarding read.
Springer, 2024, 455 pages
Classics
‘War and Peace’
By Leo Tolstoy
Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude more than a century ago, this version has been updated and revised with an Introduction by professor and writer Amy Mandelker. This is one of the most panoramic novels ever written. From ballrooms to Napoleonic battlefields, readers are swept up in events and a huge cast of characters by a master who could word-paint scenes from murals to miniatures and create people who seem to walk out of the pages. Philosophy, faith, and customs are all here as well.
Oxford University Press, 2010, 1,392 pages
For Kids
‘The Puddle’
By David McPhail
After a rainstorm, a young boy asks his mother if he can sail his boat in the puddle outside. The childhood wonder of a simple puddle leads to imaginative adventures with a passing frog, turtle, and even alligator. When he returns inside, his mother has a warm bath waiting for him, and he brings his boat there as well. A simple and lovely read.
Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1998, 32 pages
What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to features@epochtimes.nyc.
