This week, we feature the fictional journey of a cavalryman who needs to make a special delivery from India to Athens and a cozy picture book on family and the holidays.
Espionage
‘The Defector: The Untold Story of the KGB Agent Who Saved MI5 and Changed the Cold War’
By Richard Kerbaj
The Cambridge Five spy ring buried deep in Britain’s intelligence community had done its damage. The Soviet Union’s KGB had massively infiltrated MI5 and MI6. After these spies were identified and had fled to Russia, London was reeling. The intelligence failure impacted American intelligence as well, leading to heightened paranoia within the CIA. When one KGB operative defected, he brought with him an opportunity to settle the score against the Soviets. An insightful read on Cold War espionage.
Pegasus Books, 2026, 352 pages
Historical Fiction
‘An Elephant for Aristotle’
By L. Sprague de Camp
To honor his old tutor Aristotle, Alexander the Great sent Aristotle an elephant all the way from India to Attica. He gives the task of delivering the beast to Leon of Atrax, a cavalry commander who fought his way across Asia with Alexander. Now, with a small troop of men, he must bring the elephant safely to Athens, some 2,300 miles across recently conquered Persia. Based on a real event, this novel delivers adventure, historical accuracy, and humor in L. Sprague de Camp’s unique style.
Phoenix Pick, 2019, 376 pages
History
‘When the River Burned: The Untold Story of the Jupiter Explosion’
By Joey Oliver
On Sept. 16, 1990, while unloading gasoline at a pier on the Saginaw River in Bay City, Michigan, Great Lakes tanker Jupiter exploded. Pulled from the pier by the suction of another ship’s passage, it leaked gasoline, which then ignited. This book tells what resulted: the firefighting and rescue effort, the explosion’s aftermath, the ensuing investigation and charges. A study of the interconnectedness of systems, it shows why attention to detail is important in preventing accidents.
Michigan State University Press, 2026, 140 pages
Nonfiction
‘Leadership and the Liberal Arts: An Education to Last a Lifetime’
Edited by Gayle D. Beebe
This collection of thoughtful essays promoting Christian classical learning and the liberal arts argues for turning away from today’s specialized, fractured education and returning to the traditional ideal of infusing students with the ability to reason, to live in freedom, and to practice virtue. The 15 contributors are nearly all associated with California’s Westmont College, men and women working hands-on daily to provide the young with these tools and an education to last a lifetime.
IVP Academic, 2026, 288 pages
Classics
‘The Best of Robert Service’
By Robert Service
Critics dubbed Service both “the Bard of the Yukon” and “the Canadian Kipling,” and not without reason. His poems from his Yukon days, including the classics like ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee” and “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” take the reader to that remote place and often with the rollicking canter of a Kipling ballad. Service paints in print the people and places he experienced firsthand, from his vagabond days to ambulance driver during World War I. Excellent for family read-alouds.
Tarcher, 1989, 224 pages
For Kids
‘Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story’
By Pat Zietlow Miller and Jill McElmurry
Rhythmic verse captures a family cooperating in Thanksgiving preparations. Lovely illustrations feature Mama preparing the turkey, Daddy minding the fire, Sister kneading the dough, Grandpa cooking the berries, and so on, until the holiday feast is ready to enjoy. The family sits down, gives thanks for their bounty, and enjoys the holiday together.
Dragonfly Books, 2024, 32 pages
What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to features@epochtimes.nyc.
