WWII Still Fascinates

Written by Jon Williams

Although it ended nearly seventy years ago, World War II remains a major factor in the events of today, and stories surrounding the worldwide conflict continue to connect with audiences, whether they are grounded in truth or fiction. One of the most incredible true stories to come out of the war is that of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner for the United States who then joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. When his plane went down in the ocean during a 1943 rescue mission, his tale of survival would become one for the ages. That story is told by Laura Hillenbrand in the bestselling book Unbroken, which was then made into a movie directed by Angelina Jolie. And the rest of Zamperini’s life makes for a pretty good story in its own right, available in Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In by Zamperini and David Rensin.

Another tale of World War II is getting quite a bit of attention right now, this one on the fictional side. Anthony Doerr’s novel All the Light We Cannot See came out on May 6 of last year and has been on the New York Times best sellers list nearly ever since, topping it several times and sitting even now at #2. A beautiful story of a young blind French girl and a German army radio expert, whose disparate paths somehow converge in the war’s closing days, it’s easy to understand how it has become and remained so popular.

Of course, there are any number of World War II stories for your interested patrons. On the literary side, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my own favorites, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk. These epic novels detail the lives of U.S. Navy Captain Victor Henry and his family as they are swept up in the events leading up to and carrying through the war. Books like Elie Wiesel’s Night and Anne Frank – The Diary of a Young Girl detail the true-life horrors of the Holocaust, while the classic novel and Catch-22 injects an element of black humor into the dire situations facing those fighting the war on a day-to-day basis. There are even young adult books that address the war, like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Number the Stars, the Newbery Medal-winning novel from Lois Lowry.

For those who prefer movies to books, there are plenty of options as well. The aforementioned Winds of War and War and Remembrance were each made into miniseries starring Robert Mitchum as Captain Henry, and show the full scope of the war, including both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters as well as the Holocaust. Schindler’s List, detailing Oskar Schindler’s covert efforts to save lives during the Holocaust, is considered one of the best films of all time, while similarly acclaimed films like Saving Private Ryan and HBO’s Band of Brothers depict on-the-ground combat, as does the recently released Fury, starring Brad Pitt. To see how the war affected daily life at home, you can’t go wrong with The War, from documentarian Ken Burns.

And this is just scratching the surface of all the books and movies out there on the subject of World War II. What are some of your favorites, or what’s popular with patrons at your library? Tell us in the comments section below.

Hot This Week: March 16

We hope you like new movies, because there are six of them on this week's hot list, led by the latest Hunger Games installment. Kelly Clarkson's anticipated album tops the music chart, joined down the list by the last from Brandi Carlile. Last week's top two fiction titles retain their place once again, while new titles make the cut from Kazuo Ishiguro, Clive Cussler, and Patricia Briggs. In non-fiction, on the other hand, it was a quiet week, with no titles making a debut.

DVD

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
2. Dracula Untold
3. Big Hero 6
4. Lucy
5. Ouija
6. Foxcatcher
7. Horrible Bosses 2
8. The Best of Me
9. Gone Girl 
10. The Book of Life

CD

1. Kelly Clarkson, Piece by Piece
2. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
3. Taylor Swift, 1989
4. Ed Sheeran, X
5. Big Sean, Dark Sky Paradise
6. Maroon 5, V
7. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
8. Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher's Daughter
9. Meghan Trainor, Title
10. Kid Rock, First Kiss

Fiction

1. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
2. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
3. The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro
4. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
5. The Assassin, Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
6. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
7. Prodigal Son, Danielle Steel 
8. Dead Heat, Patricia Briggs
9. The Whites, Harry Brandt
10. Mightier Than the Sword, Jeffrey Archer

Non-Fiction

1. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
2. Girl in a Band, Kim Gordon
3. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
4. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
5. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
6. What If?, Randall Munroe
7. Future Crimes, Marc Goodman
8. Believer, David Axelrod
9. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
10. I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

Small-Screen Superheroes

Written by Jon Williams

These days, when you think of superhero-based entertainment, what comes to mind first is likely the big-budget blockbuster like The Dark Knight or Guardians of the Galaxy. While those movies garner a lot of attention—and for good reason!—there’s plenty to be excited about for fans looking for more regular installments in their favorite stories. There’s a long and stories tradition of superhero shows on TV, and that trend shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

I mentioned The Dark Knight because, of course, Batman is one of the most popular superheroes. Making his DC Comics debut in 1939, the Caped Crusader finally came to television in 1966. Adam West and Burt Ward played Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, and the series also included iconic turns from Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, and Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt as frequent adversaries. The lighthearted tone of that series differed greatly from the darker, grittier portrayals seen in the Michael Keaton and Christian Bale movies, as well as from the Gotham TV series currently airing on Fox.

Making his debut just before Batman, Superman has been a sometime ally and sometime adversary to his DC Comics counterpart, such as in the upcoming movie Batman v Superman. A cultural icon, the Man of Steel has been through many television iterations, beginning in 1952 with Adventures of Superman, which featured George Reeves donning the cape. In 1988, The Adventures of Superboy followed Clark Kent and his alter ego in his youth, while in 1993, Lois & Clark dealt with Superman’s adventures as well has his relationship with Lois Lane (actress Teri Hatcher’s big break). Following on the heels of that show’s popularity, Smallville, in some ways similar to Superboy, explores Clark Kent’s origins and younger days.

It’s worth nothing that yet another DC Comics character, Wonder Woman, also had a series from 1975-1979 featuring the Amazon warrior princess. There have been considerably fewer series featuring characters from Marvel Comics, at least until Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hit the airwaves in 2013. A notable example, though, is The Incredible Hulk, which ran from 1978 to 1982 and starred Bill Bixby as scientist Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the green behemoth he changes into during moments of intense anger. A TV movie continuation, The Incredible Hulk Returns, was originally intended as a setup for a series featuring Thor, another Marvel superhero, but that never panned out.

DC and Marvel have been the source for so much superhero lore in pop culture, but there are a number of other tales as well. One of my favorite shows as a kid was The Greatest American Hero (currently unavailable), about a hapless everyman who comes to possess a suit that bestows a number of powers—but, unfortunately, he loses the instructions and has to figure it out as he goes along. It also featured one of the all-time great TV theme songs, “Believe It or Not” by Joey Scarbury. A similar premise underlies the more recent series Heroes, in which seemingly ordinary people discover their own superpowers. The show concluded in 2010, but a 13-episode follow-up is scheduled to air this fall on NBC.

For those who love their superheroes, there are obviously plenty of options to choose from, and more on the way. In addition to current shows like Arrow and The Flash, there are any number of shows coming soon, such as Powers, a superhero detective drama starring Sharlto Copley and Eddie Izzard, and Constantine, a series featuring the DC Comics character played on the big screen by Keanu Reeves. In addition, there will be a number of further additions to the Marvel universe, like Daredevil and AKA Jessica Jones, both of which will be offered by Netflix. So which of these older shows do you love, and which of the new ones are you looking forward to?

Hot This Week: March 9

Lucy holds onto the top DVD spot for another week while the list gains three new movies, including the acclaimed Whiplash and Big Hero 6. Big Sean and Kid Rock take over the music chart, and the re-release of Physical Graffiti bring Led Zeppelin into the limelight. Paula Hawkins and Anthony Doerr hold onto the top two fiction spots, while new titles from Kim Gordon and Marc Goodman break into the non-fiction list.

DVD

1. Lucy
2. Gone Girl 
3. The Book of Life
4. St. Vincent
5. John Wick
6. Big Hero 6
7. The Boxtrolls
8. The Drop
9. Whiplash
10. Fury

CD

1. Big Sean, Dark Sky Paradise
2. Kid Rock, First Kiss
3. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
4. Taylor Swift, 1989
5. Ed Sheeran, X
6. Chris Brown & Tyga, Fan of a Fan
7. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
8. Imagine Dragons, Smoke + Mirrors
9. Maroon 5, V
10. Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti

Fiction

1. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
2. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
3. Mightier Than the Sword, Jeffrey Archer
4. Prodigal Son, Danielle Steel
5. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler 
6. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
7. The Whites, Harry Brandt
8. Gray Mountain, John Grisham
9. Trigger Warning, Neil Gaiman
10. Obsession in Death, J.D. Robb

Non-Fiction

1. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
2. Girl in a Band, Kim Gordon
3. Future Crimes, Marc Goodman
4. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
5. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
6. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
7. Believer, David Axelrod
8. What If?, Randall Munroe
9. I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
10. It's What I Do, Lynsey Addario

Hot This Week: March 2

Talk about a big week for new movies -- only three titles remain from last week's list. In music, Imagine Dragons debut their newest album at the top of the chart, knocking the Fifty Shades soundtrack to #2. In fiction, the top titles stay strong, with new novels coming in from Harry Brandt and Allison Pataki. Two new titles debut in non-fiction as well, with favorites I Am Malala and Not That Kind of Girl returning to the list.

DVD

1. Lucy
2. St. Vincent
3. Gone Girl
4. John Wick
5. The Boxtrolls
6. The Drop
7. Fury
8. Dying of the Light
9. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
10. The Interview

CD

1. Imagine Dragons, Smoke + Mirrors
2. Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack
3. Taylor Swift, 1989
4. Ed Sheeran, X
5. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
6. Maroon 5, V
7. Meghan Trainor, Title
8. Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint
9. Hozier, Hozier
10. NOW That's What I Call Music 53

Fiction

1. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
2. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
3. A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler 
4. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
5. The Whites, Harry Brandt
6. Obsession in Death, J.D. Robb
7. The Accidental Empress, Allison Pataki
8. Trigger Warning, Neil Gaiman
9. Private Vegas, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
10. Motive, Jonathan Kellerman

Non-Fiction

1. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
2. Believer, David Axelrod
3. Killing Patton, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
4. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
5. What If?, Randall Munroe
6. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald
7. I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
8. Ghettoside, Jill Leovy
9. It's What I Do, Lynsey Addario
10. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham