shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com December 26, 2017 • Page 9 The Bookworm ‘American Radical’ Keeps You Glued To Your Seat “American Radical” by Tamer Elnoury with Kevin Maurer; © 2017, Dutton. 349 pages ——— BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER Let’s pretend. Let’s be cowboys, in search of our lost herd. Or you be a dinosaur and I’ll be an alligator. Let’s pretend we’re cooking dinner, crawling through the desert, exploring stars. It’s fun to be something you’re not for a while — unless, as in “American Radical” by Tamer Elnoury (with Kevin Maurer), it’s a matter of international security. Born in Egypt and raised in New Jersey by devout Muslim parents, Tamer Elnoury saw an armed man praying at a local mosque one afternoon and it made him realize that he wanted to be a cop. He’d set his sights on federal law enforcement and, shortly after graduation from the police academy, the FBI came courting, but Elnoury turned them down. Post-9/11, he wondered if he’d made a mistake. He reached back out to the Bureau. Seven years later, they returned his call. As a newly-minted FBI agent who spoke fluent Arabic and English, Elnoury’s first task was coming up with a “legend” for his undercover work. He needed a story that was memorable and believable: a pseudonym; a fake family and a reason for breaking the law. He had to make a target like him without questioning his identity, or he needed to “bump” the guy to “take his temperature.” But being someone you’re not is exhausting work: Elnoury remained in his role nearly every minute he wasn’t with other agents or a “handler.” Apartments he occupied weren’t his, nor were the cars he drove. His attire had to fit the story. A case might mean several crosscountry flights in a single week. Perhaps most difficult: he had to hide his own “disgust” while he continued gathering information. That ability came in handy in his biggest case. Elnoury was a busy agent with a packed schedule on the day he got an urgent call: the FBI and Canadian officials were investigating a “very bad guy” they believed had ties to al Qaeda — or worse. Or maybe not. Learning more would require finesse, and Elnoury’s part was supposed to be a quick “bump.” And it chilled him to his core… The first thing you’ll want to do before you read “American Radical” is this: throw out everything you think you know about Islam if you’re not Muslim. Authors Tamer Elnoury (a pseudonym) and Kevin Maurer stress, often and specifically, what’s in the Quran and what Islamic terrorists claim is in the Quran. Those are two different things, the explanation of which makes readers understand clearly the danger Elnoury faced with a guy who might’ve been a friend, were it not for the man’s radical beliefs. Quiet mindfulness mixes with straining awareness, frustration, and “evil” then, adding to the tension of a tale and an aftermath that, even though parts of this book needed to be omitted for security reasons and conversations were partially re-created, reads like a palmsweaty, heart-pounding thriller. And isn’t that what you want for a long winter’s read? Eh, of course it is, so go find “American Radical.” You’re gonna love it, for real. Mead Update Looking for the best deal in town? Check the New At The Library Here’s what’s new at the Yankton Community Library this week: ADULT BOOKS • The Book of Swords by Gardner Dozois (editor); Fiction • A Christmas Return by Anne Perry; Fiction • The Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore; Fiction • Dog Dish of Doom by E.J. Copperman; Fiction • Domina by L.S. Hilton; Fiction • An Irish Country Practice by Patrick Taylor; Fiction • It Devours! by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor; Fiction • The Last Kid Left by Rosecrans Baldwin; Fiction • The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine; Fiction • On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen; Fiction • Shadow Girl by Gerry Schmitt; Fiction • The Underground River by Martha Conway; Fiction • Wonders Will Never Cease by Robert Irwin; Fiction • Born To Be Wild: Why Teens Take Risks, and How We Can Help Keep Them Safe by Jess P. Shatkin, MD, MPH; Nonfiction • Michelle Obama: Through the Lens of a White House Photographer by Amanda Lucidon; Nonfiction • Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse by James Goss; Nonfiction • Shooting Ghosts: A US Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back From War by Thomas J. Brennan, USMC (Ret.) & Finbarr O’Reilly; Nonfiction • Your Income Tax 2018 by J.K. Lasser; Nonfiction ADULT DVDS • American Assassin • The Crown (Season 1) • Despicable Me 3 • Leap! • Logan Lucky JUNIOR BOOKS • The Girl Who Knew Even More by Commander S.T. Bolivar III; Fiction • Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling; Fiction • Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein; Fiction • Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown; Fiction • Pegasus: The End of Olympus by Kate O’Hearn; Fiction • The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde by Shannon Hale & Dean Hale; Fiction EASY BOOKS • The Little Reindeer by Nicola Killen; Fiction • Merry Christmas, Blue Kangaroo! by Emma Chichester Clark; Fiction • Merry Christmas, Peanut! by Terry Border; Fiction • Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim; Fiction • The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring: The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation by Gilbert Ford; Nonfiction ——— Did you know that you can reserve an item from home? Staff will then notify you as soon as the item is available! MV Shopper M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y CLASSIFIEDS! CLASSIFIEDS IN PRINT & ONLINE To place your ad call... MV Shopper 319 Walnut St. Yankton, SD 57078 MV Shopper M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y PHOTO: DTM As work continues throughout the Mead Cultural Education Center, we are excited to mention the baseboards are done in the 2nd floor parlors. The Mead Events Halls are coming together beautifully as we prepare for the Mead Masquerade Ball on Dec. 31, 2017. Tickets are still available for the exciting evening. Magician Jim Perry of Vermillion will be there, food is being provided by Counterfeit Catering, and we are excited to announce that Missouri Magic Band will be performing all night – music from the 50s-80s, as well as ballroom dancing. Proceeds from the evening will go towards the exhibit designing of the museum. Tickets are $100 — which includes a 1-year membership to the Yankton County Historical Society. So stop by or give us a call to get your tickets. It’s not too late to make your contribution today — please contact the Dakota Territorial Museum at 610 Summit Street (in Westside Park), on Facebook/ Dakota Territorial Museum, visit us online at www.dakotaterritorialmuseum.org or www.meadbuilding.org, or call us at 605-665-3898. Buy • Sell • Trade Quality... USED Cars, Trucks, Campers, Boats & Consignments $8,500 M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y 605-665-5884 605.665.5884 Bridge City Auto 2005 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 605-665-1596 www.bridgecityautoyankton.com 802 Broadway, Yankton Participating Businesses Are… o r nT Y ea ow Great D ing ther nt ou Ano C 432 5 1 Thank you for your patronage. We look forward to serving you in 2018. J&H Cleaning Services YANKTON WORKS Want your REAL-TIME MESSAGE on the most visited media website in the Yankton area? KAYTON INTERNATIONAL, INC. 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