New and Notable

 

This week’s book column shines the spotlight on a miscellaneous batch of new titles apt to interest local readers.

 

A Treat for Mystery Lovers

How great that someone can continue a career after a sever accident! Until he was injured, Dick Francis was a steeplechase jockey.  Then he marshaled his knowledge of horses and racing to become an extremely successful mystery writer, very popular in horse-savvy Santa Ynez Valley.  

Francis didn’t do it alone: his wife and family served as research assistants. It’s been six long years since his last novel, “Under Orders,” which was published to critical and popular acclaim. The book is now available in a paperback edition.

Once again in collaboration with son Felix, Dick Francis has put out a new book, “Dead Heat” ($25.95 Putnam), and it looks to be another winner.

 

Where’s Solvang?

We all know the answer to that, but one place you won’t find Solvang is within the pages of the new book, “The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of California” ($40).  You will find Los Olivos, though, and Ballard too (that little red school house is simply irresistible). The latest in Thames & Hudson’s coffee-table book series that has included England, Tuscany and Provence, this book has strong gift-giving potential.  The text is by Joan Tapper, with photographs by Nik Wheeler.

 

José Andersen

Danish Days dust has barely settled so it may be a good time to point to the stacks of new Spanish language editions recently shelved in the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, located upstairs above The Book Loft.

There are many inexpensive editions of such favorite tales as “Pulgarcita” (Thumbelina), “El Patito Feo” (The Ugly Duckling) and “La Sirenita” (The Little Mermaid).  Unfortunately we no longer have my favorite Spanish language title, “Juan El Bobo,” commonly known in English as “Hans Clodhopper.” 

A variety of Andersen collections is available; the most impressive is Mis Cuentos Preferidos, chosen by the illustrator Jordi Vila Delclòs ($22.95 Combel).

Danes, in Denmark and in the USA, nearly always refer to Andersen as “H. C.” Andersen.  And if they pronounce those initials in Danish, it sounds like, “Hoe Say.”  My ear always hears it as, “José.”

 

The Coldest Winter

In 1972, award winning reporter David Halberstam’s “The Best and the Brightest” set the standard for Vietnam War books.  More than three decades later Halberstam uses his unrivaled journalistic skills to shed light on another dark corner in America’s history, the Korean War.

Halberstam died in a California car accident last April after completing what he considered his best book, “The Coldest Winter.” His masterful narrative covers the political decisions and miscalculations on both sides, charting the disastrous path that led to the entry of Chinese forces. At the heart of the book are stories of the soldiers on the front lines.

“The Coldest Winter:  America and the Korean War” ($35, Hyperion) is being released this week. In a heartwarming show of friendship, several of Halberstam’s colleagues and fellow authors will tour the country this fall as part of a national publicity program paying tribute to Halberstam and his work.