WWII Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books

Family of Spies

Catherine — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:40:35 +0000

Here we are nearing the end of March and this is my first nonfiction review. That’s a pretty good summation of my 2026 nonfiction reading so far. I’m staying as far away from reality as possible. However, when I saw Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn at the library it looked intriguing enough that I […]

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Skylark by Paula McClain

Catherine — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:59:42 +0000

A young woman is imprisoned in an insane asylum in the 1600s. A psychiatric medical student in Paris in the 1940s is faced with the realities of the Nazi invasion. These two unrelated characters sit at the center of Paula McLain’s latest novel, Skylark, because both are forced to venture into the darkest parts of […]

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The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

Catherine — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 07:44:45 +0000

When three members of my family rave about a novel, I really don’t have much choice but to read it, which is how I found myself immersed in the early days of WWII with a young Ukrainian sniper. A female sniper fighting on the front lines in Kate Quinn’s propulsive The Diamond Eye. Lyudmila Pavlichenko […]

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The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding

Catherine — Tue, 28 May 2024 07:39:35 +0000

The euphoria felt in England at the end of World War II was slowly replaced by the realities of an eviscerated economy and the continued need for rationing. The engagement of the much-loved Princess Elizabeth to a dashing naval officer and prince was a ray of sunshine for a worn-out country. And for any […]

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The Wealth of Shadows

Catherine — Wed, 22 May 2024 07:59:14 +0000

Every time I think I’ve read about WWII from every possible perspective I’m proven wrong. This time is was due to Graham Moore’s The Wealth of Shadows, a novel of the war told solely within the realm of economics. Specifically, the reluctance to get involved on the part of numerous key political figures in the […]

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Mistress of the Ritz

Catherine — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 07:23:44 +0000

I began this week with a novel that took place partly during World War II so will keep it clean and end that way. Except, Mistress of the Ritz takes place in the thick of it—Nazi headquarters in Paris, the Hotel Ritz. Author Melanie Benjamin is back with a historical fiction based on the life […]

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Annelies by David Gillham

Catherine — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 08:37:11 +0000

As much as I love historical fiction, there are some people who should be left to history rather than brought back in fiction. After reading David Gillham’s Annelies I believe Anne Frank is one of these. She is too deeply imbued by her own writing, the writing she left behind to be reconsidered by another […]

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November Reading Wrap-Up

Catherine — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:12:12 +0000

Well, my November this year was not as much of a blockbuster as last year, but I did read four outstanding books, out of a total of 12 for the month. Not too surprisingly, they were all books released several years ago. Generally, November is a slow time for new releases (which seems odd to […]

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The Dreaded DNF: Mini-Reviews

Catherine — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 07:58:16 +0000

There is more than one reason for not finishing a book. Sometimes it’s a case of ‘It’s Not You, It’s Me‘. Other times it’s the right book at the wrong time. And then, there are the cases when neither of these apply and it is more basic: life is too short for me to keep […]

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8 Books I Loved in 2017

Catherine — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 08:34:09 +0000

Every year I (and almost every book blogger I know) put together lists of our favorite books of the year. Almost everyone I know has already put their lists out there, but I have not been able to rally to the task because in the 5+ years I’ve been a blogger it’s never been […]

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