The Son and Heir: a Memoir by Alexander Munninghoff

“The Son and Heir” tells the story of a man whose not-uncommon fractious relationship with his father led to the very uncommon step of joining Hitler’s army, becoming an SS officer who fought on the Russian front. The author, Alexander Munninghoff was a small boy unaware of the meaning of … Continue reading

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: by David Mitchell

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is a curious book set at the end of the 18th century in Japan. The Dutch had an arrangement with the Japanese to trade but were not allowed onto the islands themselves except in rare circumstances. So the Dutch built little offshore islands … Continue reading