The On The Bookshelf Podcast

Historian John R. Maass brings a new perspective on the American Revolution

"From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning Points of the Revolutionary War" by John R. Maass (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary, this sweeping narrative is an astute exploration of the five critical military events that changed the outcome of the Revolutionary war.
For eight grueling years, American and British military forces struggled in a bloody war over colonial independence. This conflict also ensnared Native American warriors and the armies and navies of France, Spain, the Dutch Republic, and several German principalities. From frozen Canada to tropical Florida and as far west as the Mississippi River, the Revolutionary War included hundreds of campaigns, battles, and skirmishes on land and sea in which soldiers and sailors fought and died for causes, crowns, and comrades.
In this masterful, yet accessible narrative of America's fight for liberty, John R. Maass identifies the five decisive events that secured independence for the 13 hard-pressed but determined colonies. These include not only the obvious military victories such as Trenton, Princeton, and Yorktown but also the leadership and reforms that ensured Washington's forces were capable of enduring the harsh conditions of the winter of 1778. Similarly, King Louis XVI's decision to supply Continental troops during the Saratoga Campaign with desperately needed soldiers, arms, money, and fleets is also detailed as a key factor.
These turning points, not all of them triumphs on the battlefield, delivered a victory for the new United States. By challenging conventional interpretations of what ensures victory in warfare, From Trenton to Yorktown offers a fresh perspective on the Revolutionary War!

 

John R. Maass is a staff member of the National Museum of the U.S. Army at Fort Belvoir. He received a BA in history from Washington and Lee University and a PhD in early American history at The Ohio State University. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on early U.S. military history, including North Carolina and the French and Indian War: The Spreading Flames of War (2013); Defending a New Nation, 1783-1811 (2013); The Road to Yorktown: Jefferson, Lafayette and the British Invasion of Virginia (2015); George Washington's Virginia (2017); and The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement (2020).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gregory Maguire, author of ELPHIE, the new prequel to WICKED

ABOUT GREGORY MAGUIRE, WICKED and ELPHIE

As of February 20, 2025, the film adaptation of Wicked (2024) has grossed over $727 million worldwide. The movie is projected to earn over $1 billion at the box office and the advance ticket sales for film were the second best for Fandango in 2024. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two. 

Gregory Maguire, the acclaimed author behind the best-selling novel Wicked, is set to enchant readers once again with a prequel to this beloved story. Maguire's new novel, ELPHIE (Morrow, on sale 3/25/25) chronicles the formative years of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, unveiling her intriguing past and setting the stage for the global phenomenon that is Wicked.

Nearly 30 years after the original novel captivated readers, ELPHIE promises to be a riveting coming-of-age story that explores Elphaba's early life. The novel reveals how young Elphaba, marked from birth by her green skin, navigates a world shaped by her mother's promiscuity and her father's piety. It touches upon her early encounters with the marginalized Animal populations of Oz, her struggles with familial jealousy, and her educational adventures leading to Shiz University where she meets the charismatic Galinda.

Elphaba and the themes that Maguire presented in his groundbreaking work of fiction have only become more relevant in today's divided world. Acclaimed by critics and readers alike, Wicked has sold over 6 million copies and inspired the Tony Award-winning musical that has become one of Broadway's most successful shows. In response to readers' longstanding curiosity, Maguire's ELPHIE will explore the complexities of Elphaba's character, offering a profound insight into her transformation into one of literature's most iconic witches.

Maguire's ability to re-imagine the familiar world of Oz has been praised by prominent voices in literature and theatre. Stephen Schwartz, the composer and lyricist of "Wicked: The Musical," notes, "I knew that Gregory Maguire had come up with a genius idea the moment I heard about Wicked. It's a book that has changed a lot of lives, including mine."

ABOUT GREGORY MAGUIRE

Gregory Maguire is a New York Times bestselling author known for his inventive retellings of classic tales. His works have sold millions of copies worldwide, with "Wicked" alone spending 35 weeks on the bestseller list. Maguire continues to captivate audiences with his richly detailed narratives and profound insights into human nature.

Ben Lansing & Rev. Dan Marotte present 52 Saints of the Christian Life

“Our Church Speaks: An Illustrated Devotional of Saints from Every Era and Place” By Ben Lansing and DJ Marotta (IVP)

One of my very favorite hymns is “For All The Saints”, sung in most liturgical churches, celebrating those who lived and served the church faithfully in the centuries that preceded us. This book does the same. It is the result of the collaboration between two friends: DJ the Anglican priest, and Ben the creator of an online art series, “Our Church Speaks”. They created this book to celebrate and inform all followers of Christ of the riches of our human inheritance, the “cloud of witnesses” who came before us in the faith.

They are not “celebrities” (who are famous for being famous). In fact, most aren’t even known by the members of the denominations in which they served. They are “flawed but faith-filled” men and women who strove to serve Jesus to the very best of their abilities. They come from the twenty centuries before our time on Earth, from places around the world, and from various Christian disciplines. A few might be known to the average modern Christian; most are not. Their experiences, challenges, failings and triumphs point the way toward their Redeemer rather than themselves. For many, we don’t know their birthdates, but the day they died. Some were martyred, some were not. All sacrificed and trusted in the Savior.

Their stories, their witness, and their courage can and should inspire all who follow Christ.

Three saints whose celebrations have become secularized (and balderized) are probably the best known: Saints Nicholas, Valentine and Patrick. But their stories, like the others, are much different than the glitzy or profane modern observances. All were willing to die for their faith (and two did.) There are more ancient saints presented here, but also some from the Middle Ages, and some from their last two centuries.

They are not all “official” saints (that is, canonized by the Roman Catholic or the Orthodox Churches) but they all followed Jesus and sought to serve Him and His people. There are many that could have been included, but time and space constraints exist. However, I was pleasantly surprised at some of those fellow believers who were included: CS Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Aquinas, brother Cyril and Methodius, Athanasius, Joan of Arc, Juliam of Norwich, Johann Sebastian Bach, William Wilberforce, Augustine and his mother Monica, John Bunyan, Mother Teresa, Hildegard, Francis of Assisi, William Tyndale, and a host of others who are new to me from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. All we Christians have much to learn about serving God in our own communities from these who mostly did that very thing.

 

Kostya Kennedy on the 250th Anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride

 

2025 marks the 250^th anniversary of one of our nation’s most famous founding events: The legendary midnight ride of Paul Revere – now newly told with extraordinary research into little-known aspects of the story that we’ve heard about since childhood but hardly understood

"THE RIDE: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America" By Kostya Kennedy (St. Martin's Press)

On April 18, 1775, a Boston-based silversmith, engraver, and staunch anti-British political operative named Paul Revere set out on the most famous horse ride in American history. A century later it inspired the poem and legend of “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” But the story is deeper and richer than we’ve all assumed. Acclaimed writer and editor Kostya Kennedy, through extraordinary and extensive research, has uncovered new and enlightening information on that amazing - including the women who were involved and African Americans in Boston - event presented now in his new book, THE RIDE: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America (St. Martin’s Press, $30.00).

Revere was not the only rider on the night of April 18, 1775, but he was by far the most critical. The Patriots best and most trusted “express rider” he had already completed at least 18 previous rides throughout New England, disseminating intelligence about British movements. But this ride was like no other, and its consequences in the months and years following – as the American Revolution transitioned from isolated skirmishes to a full-fledged war – became one of our founding tales.

In THE RIDE, Kostya Kennedy presents a dramatic new narrative of the events of Revere’s ride, informed by fresh primary and secondary research into archives, family letters and diaries, contemporary accounts, and more. What he found are never before, or rarely, discussed events, before and after the ride, including:

*On the night of the ride, Paul Revere was already the go-to rider for the revolution, called upon to make the most critical rides: in December 1773 he rode hundreds of miles south to New York and Philadelphia to deliver news of The Boston Tea Party.

*Revere never said, “The British are coming!” during the ride.

*On the night of the ride, Revere rode on a borrowed horse that was then taken from him by British officers; Revere never saw the horse again.

*The “sea,” in “one if by land, two if by sea,” refers to the Charles River.

*Revere intentionally did not carry his pistol on the night of the ride, which may have saved his life.

*At the start of the ride, Revere was rowed quietly over the Charles River from Boston to Charlestown, along the way eluding lookouts stationed on a British warship.

*Other riders galloped through the countryside that night carrying the alarm and nearly all of them were set in motion by Revere’s alarm.

*Only one other rider departed from Boston, William Dawes, who left over land across Boston Neck; as Dawes got past British guards he pretended he was a drunk country bumpkin.

Kennedy’s work shows the Revere ride to be vastly more complex than is usually portrayed. It was a coordinated ride of some 40 men that included near-disasters, capture by British forces, and ultimately success. While Paul Revere was central to the ride and its plotting, the author reveals the myriad other men – and women! – who proved crucial to the events that helped set in motion what would lead to America’s independence.

About the Author: Kostya Kennedy is an editor at Dotdash Meredith and a former Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, Pete Rose: An American Dilemma and True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson. All three won the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year. He has taught at Columbia University and New York University, and lives in Westchester County, NY.

 

Sarah Sundin's latest WWII Thriller-Midnight on the Scottish Shore

“Midnight on the Scottish Shore: a novel of World War II” by Sarah Sundin (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

 

Cilla van der Zee has talked herself into a very dangerous situation: her sister is running around with a Nazi soldier in occupied Holland, and her closest friends are in the Underground. Cilla approaches the Nazis to volunteer to be a spy in Great Britain; she has relatives there, which would make an excellent cover. They agree but if it’s a trick her family will be sent to the concentration camps.

 

She is taken to the coast of Scotland in a U-boat and sent to shore in a rubber boat with her radio, pistol, and supplies. But the current is dangerous and she barely gets to land where she is immediately captured! The Scottish naval officer, Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie, turns her in to the authorities. Cilla tells him of her plight, and her determination to thwart the Nazis. MI5 decides to take a chance on Cilla as a double agent: they will provide outdated or incorrect information she can report to her contacts in the Netherlands. It’s a deadly game.

 

Lachlan will be required to work with her, and his MI5 superior Cmdr. Ernest Yardley, will be her handler. The two WRENS assigned to keep track on her don’t trust her, and Lachlan doesn’t either. Cilla is very charming and positive, but isn’t it all part of her spy training. He doesn’t trust her, and he’s already under pressure due to his younger brother’s vocal opposition to Scots fighting for the UK.

 

But over time, as she is assigned (and confined) to a lighthouse, Cilla proves her devotion to the Allied cause. Lachlan softens his distrust and dislike of her, even allowing her to attend church. When she meets his parents there and they invite her to dinner, Lachlan must figure out how to avoid being suspicious yet keep them apart. Eventually a family dinner occurs with Cilla as guest, and his family and friends begin to notice a softening of his stern ways. This mysterious woman seems good for him!

 

The partnership is fruitful: Yardley provides outdated material or invents situations and Cilla is very good at creating whole scenarios which they can report back to the Abwehr. Lachlan is beginning to have actual human, normal feelings for her, but still can’t trust her, until when she hears of a Scottish crew in trouble at sea and runs to rescue them. She risks exposure and her life to save them, and finally everyone believes her story. But can she ever truly prove herself to MI5? Can Lachlan forgive his brother’s bad decisions which time and again have sabotaged Lachlan’s career? Can they fight the Nazis and admit their feelings for each other?

 

Set in the northernmost islands of Scotland, a place at once beautiful and barren, harsh and dangerous, it’s one of the few places in all my trips to Scotland I’ve never visited and always wanted to go. Through this novel, I get to do so vicariously! I am always delighted to see a new novel from Sarah Sundin. It will be carefully researched and written with painstaking attention to historical and cultural details. This maintains her excellent standards, presenting an engaging and complex scenario in her special field of expertise, WWII.