"Why I Fight" Release Date, plus MacBeth in the War Era
Also, what I learned about Americano (the coffee drink) and WWII
Happy Friday!
A quick update on the next book in the Nisei War Series. Why I Fight will be officially released on November 1. In my last newsletter, I told you that the main character in this book, Katsuo Sakai, is a soldier in the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion (FAB). Specifically, he is a sergeant in command of a team tasked with firing the 105mm Howitzer. The image above is a picture of the 522nd FAB in training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. To give you a better visual, I recolorized it with AI. The soldiers’ faces are too dark, but it’s amazing given this is an old black and white photo.
I’m really looking forward to bringing you this story. Please keep this in mind too if you’re looking to buy a gift of a book for Christmas or the holiday season!!
I will have more updates very soon,
Alexa Kang
Did you know our GIs created Americano?
While researching for Why I Fight, I had to find out what kind of coffee American GIs drank. I found this informative article, What Types of Coffee Did Soldiers Drink in World War 2? From it, I learned:
The American troops were stationed in Italy during World War II. The troops were given coffee during the war that they were not used to. So, they started making it their way. This version later became popular as Americano.
Americans made it by boiling water and pouring it over the ground beans. Then, milk was added as per requirement. This method gives coffee a smooth and silky texture. Milk was optional, depending on the needs of the consumers. Americano is more on the sweet side compared to both cappuccino and espresso.
Leave it to us Americans to water down foreign fine food to suit our less exotic palate.
The first time I heard of “Americano” was when I bought my first coffee drink at Starbucks in the 1990s when their coffee shops became popular beyond Seattle. I remember being mildly intrigued why this particular drink was called the “Americano”, since all their other coffee drinks at least have names that pretend to be actual Italian coffee drinks, like “expresso”. Once again, I’m reminded of war vast and lasting impact on our culture, even to today.
In the Shadows of the Pyrenees
While Why I Fight is in production, I finally had some much-needed down time to catch up on reading some books on my very long TBR list. One book I read was In the Shadow of the Pyrenees: The Freedom Trail to Spain by my friend and fellow WWII fiction author Kathryn Gauci. I had been looking forward to this one, and she did not disappoint. Her new release is a fantastic tale of the resistance in Occupied France, where the residents of the sleepy village of Mont-Saint-Jean near the country’s border operated underground to help desperate French and foreign Jews escape to Spain. Kathryn’s writing is superb, and I really enjoyed the story. It is a good read you may want to pick up for this month until my next book comes out in November.
MacBeth set in the War Era
Besides catching up on movies, I also caught up on shows I wanted to watch. One movie on my TBW list was MacBeth starring Sir Patrick Stewart. I’m a huge Star Trek:TNG fan, so this one was a must-see. What makes this version so interesting is that it is set in the WWII and post-war Communist era. The production is very reminiscent of WWII on the Eastern Front under the influence of Stalin. There are even WWII-like battle scene footages spliced in. I’ve never seen MacBeth done this way before. It was very impressive. This movie was release in 2010 following successful stage runs at the West End, Brooklyn, and a full-year run on Broadway. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it. It is currently available on PBS (also on PBS Masterpiece in Amazon Prime.)
I am a Shakespeare fan, and I enjoy watch different productions of the same play to see how different actors and directors interpret the story. After watching Sir Patrick, I decided to watch the most recent film production of MacBeth directed by Joel Coen and starring Denzel Washington. While Sir Patrick’s version was very much a stage performance even though it was adapted for film production, the Coen/Denzel one was absolutely made for a movie audience. It was filmed with very creative special effects and camera angles that reminded me of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. The opening scene with the witches absolutely blew me away. So, I have to share it here, even though it has nothing to do with WWII. This movie is currently available on Apple TV.
Alexa Kang’s Books
