From acclaimed journalist Walter Shapiro, the true life story of how his great-uncle—a Jewish vaudeville impresario and exuberant con man—managed to cheat Hitler’s agents in the run-up to WWII. All his life, journalist Walter Shapiro assumed that the outlandish stories about his great-uncle Freeman were exaggerated family lore; some cockamamie Jewish revenge fantasies dreamt up to entertain the kids and venerate their larger-than-life relative. Only when he started researching Freeman Bernstein’s life did he realize that his family was actually holding back—the man had enough stories, vocations, and IOUs to fill a dozen lifetimes. Freeman was many people: a vaudeville manager, boxing promoter, stock swindler, card shark and self-proclaimed “Jade King of China.” But his greatest title, perhaps the only man who can claim such infamy, was as The Man Who Hustled Hitler. A cross between The Night They Raided Minsky’s and Guys and Dolls, Freeman Bernstein’s life was itself an old New York sideshow extravaganza, one that Shapiro expertly stages in Hustling Hitler. From a ragtag childhood in Troy, New York, Shapiro follows his great-uncle’s ever-crooked trajectory through show business, from his early schemes on the burlesque circuit to marrying his star performer, May Ward, and producing silent films—released only in Philadelphia. Of course, all of Freeman’s cons and schemes were simply a prelude to February 18, 1937, the day he was arrested by the LAPD outside of Mae West’s apartment in Hollywood. The charge? Grand larceny—for cheating Adolf Hitler and the Nazi government. In the capstone of his slippery career, Freeman had promised to ship thirty-five tons of embargoed Canadian nickel to the Führer; when the cargo arrived, the Germans found only huge, useless quantities of scrap metal and tin. It was a blow to their economy and war preparations—and Hitler did not take the bait-and-switch lightly. Told with cinematic verve and hilarious perspective, Hustling Hitler is Shapiro’s incredible investigation into the man behind the myth. By reconstructing his great-uncle’s remarkable career, Shapiro has transformed Freeman Bernstein from a barely there footnote in history to the larger-than-life, eternal hustler who forever changed it.

The Master of Fate is a debut novella that narrates the story of Remilekun, an orphan, whose desire to fulfil his late mother's dream of getting education takes him to the university. He finds true love at the university with a good girl from a different tribe. Their true love stands firm against all stiff oppositions. However, their true love is short-lived as the newlyweds find themselves in the den of a notorious kidnapping gang, known as the Czar Boys, led by Hitler. The story reaches a nervy moment when the accidental killing of Hitler in police custody reveals state security complicit, a calculated move by the police intended to prevent the dreaded outlaw from letting the cat out of the bag. The story reveals the perverse nature of humans from corruption to injustice, from greed to obsession, and from betrayal to murder. The craftily-plotted story reaches a twisty conclusion that leaves the reader, wondering whom to ever trust again.

The seventh edition of Buzz Books is a treasure-trove of substantial excerpts from dozens of the most highly-touted books to be published this fall/winter. Our “digital convention” features such major authors as Geraldine Brooks, Lauren Groff, Alice Hoffman, Janice Lee, Ron Rash, and Adriana Trigiani. We showcase debut novelists you’ve already heard of—Sloane Crosley, Jesse Eisenberg, and Amy Stewart—and anticipated new voices such as Virginia Baily (Early One Morning) and Claire Vaye Watkins (Gold, Fame, Citrus). Our nonfiction selections range from Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir to revelations on aging by Dick Van Dyke; new work from New York Times bestselling authors Jane McGonigal and Eric Weiner; and a memoir by Dan Marshall that will be featured at this year’s Book Expo America convention on the Editors Buzz panel: Home is Burning. Many of our Buzz Books authors also will be in attendance at BEA. We’ve grouped titles into sections for fiction, debut fiction, and nonfiction titles. If these great samples aren’t enough to fill your fall reading lists, we start with an extensive report on the entire fall/winter publishing season, with over 100 notable forthcoming books in all that you will find covered and promoted in the months ahead. Start reading some of the best future books right now, and invite your friends and book groups to download their own free copy of the ebook from any major ebookstore or at buzz.publishersmarketplace.com. And for the best in children’s literature, be sure to look for Buzz Books 2015: Young Adult Fall/Winter (9780990835363), also available now.

A biography of Bunny Mellon, the style icon and American aristocrat who designed the White House Rose Garden for her friend JFK and served as a living witness to 20th Century American history, operating in the high-level arenas of politics, diplomacy, art and fashion. Bunny Mellon, who died in 2014 at age 103, was press-shy during her lifetime. With the co-operation of Bunny Mellon's family, author Meryl Gordon received access to thousands of pages of her letters, diaries and appointment calendars and has interviewed more than 175 people to capture the spirit of this talented American original.

At the age of twenty-four, in 1913, Adolf Hitler was eking out a living as a painter of pictures for tourists in Munich. Nothing marked him in any way as exceptional, but he did possess certain distinguishing characteristics: a capacity to hate, an inability to accept criticism, and a massive overconfidence in his own abilities. He was a socially and emotionally inadequate individual without direction, from whence came a sense of personal mission that would transform these weaknesses and liabilities into strengths—certainties that would provide him not only with a sense of identity, but of purpose in a communal enterprise. This is the focus of Laurence Rees’s social, psychological, and historical investigation into a personality that would end up articulating the hopes and dreams of millions of Germans. (With 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations)

Heinz A. Heinz was the only writer authorised by the Nazi Party to draw a biography of the Fhrer for publication in the English speaking world. The result was the 1938 authorised biography of Adolf Hitler entitled Germany's Hitler.The book was based on interviews supplied first hand by those friends, helpers and comrades who had believed in him from the beginning of his political career. Heinz A. Heinz was a professional journalist and author, he interviewed Hitler's old school friends, army colleagues, landlords, his jailer, and early party comrades including an invaluable interview with Anton Drexler to produce an unprecedented insight into Adolf Hitler as viewed by his acquaintances during the inter-war period.These remarkable interviews were given by those who had stood by him in his darkest days, and who lived to see one of the most astounding political achievements in history. Included are vivid and unique descriptions of Hitler at school, his First World War battlefield experiences, the early political struggles, the full story behind the 9th November Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler in prison, and the struggle to power from 1926 to 1933.Featuring a new introduction by Emmy Award winning writer and historian Bob Carruthers, this book is a vital primary source reference work for anyone interested in understanding how and why Hitler won the total adulation and support of such a large section of the German people.

A concise and timely account of Hitler’s—and fascism’s—rise to power and ultimate defeat, from one of America’s most famous journalists. American journalist and author William L. Shirer was a correspondent for six years in Nazi Germany—and had a front-row seat to Hitler’s mounting influence. His most definitive work on the subject, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is a riveting account defined by first-person experience interviewing Hitler, watching his impassioned speeches, and living in a country transformed by war and dictatorship. Shirer was originally commissioned to write The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler for a young adult audience. This account loses none of the immediacy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich—capturing Hitler’s ascendence from obscurity, the horror of Nazi Germany’s mass killings, and the paranoia and insanity that marked the führer’s downfall. This book is by no means simplified—and is sure to appeal to adults as well as young people with an interest in World War II history. “For nearly 100 years William L Shirer has spoken to us of fascism, Nazis, and Hitler . . . [He] tells the unvarnished truth as he experienced it . . . I figured this school-type book wasn’t going to tell me anything new. But when I started reading, I realized that I wasn’t reading for the facts anymore. I listened to his story and heard the urgency in his voice: a voice from nearly 60 years ago telling us the truth about today.” —Daily Kos