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Showing posts from October, 2025

The Last Assignment by Erika Robuck

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  The Last Assignment brings to light a trailblazing woman photojournalist known for her work as a war correspondent from WWII through the Vietnam War – Georgette Meyer Chapelle, known professionally as Dickey Chapelle. She worked for major periodicals and captured the raw, human side of war with remarkable clarity. The story begins with her failing marriage and the backstories of how she lost her previous job and struggled to return to work she loved the most. The pace quickens when she convinces her boss, Leo Cherne of Life and the IRC, to send her to Hungary to cover the 1956 uprising. In Vienna, she meets with Dr. Faust to expedite the delivering of antibiotics for refugees, even as the window for safe passage closes rapidly. Leo warns her not to cross the Hungarian border illegally - something she is notorious for doing – and reminds her to report to RIA in New York on December 10 for debriefing. As other war correspondents begin to leave, having gathered enough material...

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester

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  The Mademoiselle Alliance is a fascinating account of a real-life heroine who risked everything to reclaim a free France – for her children and her country. Morocco, 1928. At eighteen, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade marries Edouard Meric, an army officer working for the French Intelligence Service. He is eight years her senior. It doesn’t take long for her to realize their energies don’t align. Her memories of growing-up in Shanghai reawaken her adventurous spirit - something her husband struggles to accept.   Her time in Morocco reveals her natural gift for assembling the pieces needed to gather intelligence. She defies her husband by taking secret camel rides to visit the tribal groups he needs to befriend, proving herself adept at winning trust and navigating unfamiliar terrain.   Paris, 1936. Now, separated from her husband and raising two children, Marie-Madeleine refuses to let conventions limit her. She becomes a journalist in Paris defying societal expectations ...