Owls: Our Most Charming Bird by Matt Sewell

Owls: Our Most Charming Bird by Matt Sewell

Need we say any more bout this book? If you love owls, and think they are ''our most charming bird'', then needless to say, you will be delighted with this small book by Matt Sewell! This little guide to owls gives a friendly look at a number of the species. Each type of owl is highlighted by a lovely, delicate watercolor by author and illustrator Matt Sewell. Among the fifty species presented in this book are the Eurasian Pygmy owl, the Great Gray Owl, the Screech Owl, and Barn Owl. This book will make an excellent Christmas gift, stocking-stuffer or just a simple any time gift this season! How can you disappoint with such a charming subject as owls?

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris by Alex Kershaw

Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris

by Alex Kershaw 

     We all love history and have studied it enthusiastically and in depth over the course of our school and (for some of us) college years! World War Two history ranks high in our list of favorite time periods to study. It is no surprise then, that Avenue of Spies caught our eye and interest when we first saw it publicised!  Indeed, the story contained within (see below synopsis) is fascinating and riveting. However, what shocked us was the quality of writing. The author has so many good details and history to recount but and perhaps therefore throws valuable writing style to the wind. In value, we found the writing equivalent to that of an 8th grader. We found this extremely disappointing, since the content of this book was worth reading for sure. The writing quality just made the read longer and more tedious. 

We received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

The best-selling author of The Liberator brings to life the incredible true story of an American doctor in Paris, and his heroic espionage efforts during World War II

The leafy Avenue de Foch, one of the most exclusive residential streets in Nazi-occupied France, was Paris's hotbed of daring spies, murderous secret police, amoral informers, and Vichy collaborators. So when American physician Sumner Jackson, who lived with his wife and young son Phillip at Number 11, found himself drawn into the Liberation network of the French resistance, he knew the stakes were impossibly high. Just down the road at Number 31 was the "mad sadist" Theodor Dannecker, an Eichmann protégé charged with deporting French Jews to concentration camps. And Number 84 housed the Parisian headquarters of the Gestapo, run by the most effective spy hunter in Nazi Germany.

From his office at the American Hospital, itself an epicenter of Allied and Axis intrigue, Jackson smuggled fallen Allied fighter pilots safely out of France, a job complicated by the hospital director's close ties to collaborationist Vichy. After witnessing the brutal round-up of his Jewish friends, Jackson invited Liberation to officially operate out of his home at Number 11--but the noose soon began to tighten. When his secret life was discovered by his Nazi neighbors, he and his family were forced to undertake  a journey into the dark heart of the war-torn continent from which there was little chance of return.

Drawing upon a wealth of primary source material and extensive interviews with Phillip Jackson, Alex Kershaw recreates the City of Light during its darkest days. The untold story of the Jackson family anchors the suspenseful narrative, and Kershaw dazzles readers with the vivid immediacy of the best spy thrillers. Awash with the tense atmosphere of World War II's Europe, Avenue of Spies introduces us to the brave doctor who risked everything to defy Hitler.