by Matt Zullo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 10, 2020
An engaging tale of some little-known Navy cryptology efforts before World War II.
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A lightly fictionalized debut work focuses on pioneering codebreakers in the United States Navy in the years leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack.
Retired radio intelligence officer Zullo combines years of technical expertise with a passion for his subject to craft the first of two volumes about a group of 20th-century Navy cryptologists. Called the On-the-Roof Gang because classes were held on the roof of a Navy building, the effort involved 176 men trained between 1928 and 1941. The radio operators learned techniques of transmission analysis involving Japanese katakana telegraphic code in order to intercept Imperial Japanese navy communications. The key figure in the narrative is Petty Officer Harry Kidder, who in June 1924 is a Morse code expert and Navy radioman in the Philippines. An eager and enthusiastic ham radio amateur, Harry discovers puzzling extra letters in transmissions while pursuing his hobby. Determined to decipher what he has noticed, Harry finds out from a Navy memo that the letters are part of the Japanese katakana alphabet. He then asks a friend’s Japanese wife for assistance. She helps Harry develop a “symbol, sound, and letter chart.” Several months later, Harry, now back in the U.S., meets Lt. Laurance Safford, a radio communications officer in Washington, D.C., assigned to look into Harry’s claims. Alongside the two men is the brilliant Agnes Meyer, working as a civilian in Navy communications, who comes up with the idea to establish a training program, and the On-the-Roof Gang is born. The tale proceeds chronologically, discussing developments in code-breaking techniques during the 1930s as well as military history. Other chapters delve into Harry’s personal life and problems, including an incident in Hawaii that leads to his forced retirement before Safford works to fully reinstate him to the “Research Desk” in 1940.
The intriguing story picks up speed and tension toward the end, as Safford and Navy radio operators search for elusive “Winds Execute” messages that will provide evidence that shows what by then seems inevitable: “War with Japan was imminent and that the Japanese were likely to attack without warning.” While technically historical fiction due to the invented dialogue and scenes, Zullo’s book leans heavily toward nonfiction and will primarily appeal to readers interested in military history, code-breaking, and the war in the Pacific. The narrative sparkles with authenticity and is well organized and clear, enhanced by the judicious use of historical photographs and maps. But the inclusion of each of the 25 training classes tends to slow the dramatic pace. And while the fictional scenes are well crafted, Harry, Safford, and others remain primarily historical figures. Still, history buffs will appreciate the illuminating chronicle, which has been informed by archival sources, first-person accounts, and interviews with veterans. While some details could have been omitted to achieve a tighter story, the author’s firm grasp of events makes for a compelling read. Volume 2 promises to bring readers into the war. Kidder, affectionately known as Pappy, died in 1963 and was inducted into the National Security Agency’s Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2019.
An engaging tale of some little-known Navy cryptology efforts before World War II. (author’s note, list of abbreviations and acronyms)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73515-270-7
Page Count: 442
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 2022
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
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New York Times Bestseller
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
by Liane Moriarty ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 10, 2024
A fresh, funny, ambitious, and nuanced take on some of our oldest existential questions. Cannot wait for the TV series.
What would you do if you knew when you were going to die?
In the first page and a half of her latest page-turner, bestselling Australian author Moriarty introduces a large cast of fascinating characters, all seated on a flight to Sydney that’s delayed on the tarmac. There’s the “bespectacled hipster” with his arm in a cast; a very pregnant woman; a young mom with a screaming infant and a sweaty toddler; a bride and groom, still in their wedding clothes; a surly 6-year-old forced to miss a laser-tag party; a darling elderly couple; a chatty tourist pair; several others. No one even notices the woman who will later become a household name as the “Death Lady” until she hops up from her seat and begins to deliver predictions to each of them about the age they’ll be when they die and the cause of their deaths. Age 30, assault, for the hipster. Age 7, drowning, for the baby in arms. Age 43, workplace accident, for a 42-year-old civil engineer. Self-harm, age 28, for the lovely flight attendant, who is that day celebrating her 28th birthday. Over the next 126 chapters (some just a paragraph), you will get to know all these people, and their reactions to the news of their demise, very well. Best of all, you will get to know Cherry Lockwood, the Death Lady, and the life that brought her to this day. Is it true, as she repeatedly intones on the plane, that “fate won’t be fought”? Does this novel support the idea that clairvoyance is real? Does it find a means to logically dismiss the whole thing? Or is it some complex amalgam of these possibilities? Sorry, you won’t find that out here, and in fact not until you’ve turned all 500-plus pages. The story is a brilliant, charming, and invigorating illustration of its closing quote from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (we’re not going to spill that either).
A fresh, funny, ambitious, and nuanced take on some of our oldest existential questions. Cannot wait for the TV series.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780593798607
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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