John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A remarkably researched peek into the life of a determined public servant, South Dakota Crusader: Francis Case’s Road to Congress by Stephen L. Wilson details the impressive journey of Francis Case, a United States Representative and Senator who served South Dakota for over two decades. Despite humble beginnings, Case perennially proved himself to be an ambitious, intelligent, and hard-working student, teacher, journalist, and civic leader, all of which made him an effectual and respected member of Congress in the latter half of his life. This portrait offers an inspiring example of resilience, decency, and purposeful living in the expanding ideological […]

A detailed and fascinating plunge more than 2,000 years into the past, A Brief History of France: Empires, Kings, and Revolutions by Dominic Haynes is an accessible yet academic read on a perennial epicenter of Europe. From throwing off the yoke of empires to worshipping pampered kings as gods, the role of France in geopolitics and popular culture has often been outsized, and this meticulously researched look into the nation’s evolution explains why and how it achieved such global significance. Though the first third of the book can be somewhat dense with ancient history, it lays a foundation for Haynes’ […]

A manic sci-fi fling into truth, justice, and family loyalty, Benny Dubious: Hiding from the Feds is a wildly creative novella from Maxwell Hoffman. Suspension of disbelief is essential as Benny Dubious hides out with a suspicious group of his relatives, some of whom don’t appreciate his connections to a group of vigilantes gone bad in Los Angeles. However, if he can convince his brainiac cousin to build him a time chamber, he just might be able to outsmart the relentless Felix Fromm and the Feds, giving his crime syndicate the upper hand once again. While the unpredictable plot moves […]

A coming-of-age thriller packed with shadowy conspiracies and unburied legacies, Jordan Frost and the Awakening by J.A. Simmons is a YA adventure of slow-burning revenge and powerful self-discovery. Jordan, an orphan, has never met his parents, but after being swept into The Desert by a mysterious woman to avoid a malicious killer, he discovers the unbelievable truth of his ancestral origins. Quickly mastering the rigorous Ways of a secret warrior society, Jordan taps into a power he didn’t know existed to find the redemption he didn’t know he deserved. While the fast-moving story is undeniably exciting, the text requires a […]

A patriotic and passionate ode to citizenship as an idea and a state of being, Citizen Can: Just a Concerned Person Who Believes We Can Attain a Higher Level of Mutual Existence by John L. Hurlbut is a timely reflection on responsibility to ourselves, each other, and the nations we call home. A memoir, political primer, and self-help manual all rolled into one, the prose is philosophical but accessible, peppered with powerful quotes from great leaders and thinkers of past and present. Exploring societal dynamics, tribalism, and the contemporary landscape of immigration, citizenship, and national loyalty, Hurlbut makes a compelling […]