All Book Reviews
When Belle 脡poque Paris absorbed Russian 茅migr茅s fleeing revolutionParis in the early 20th century became a refuge for Russians, whose culture enriched the city, writes Helen Rappaport in聽鈥淎fter the Romanovs.鈥�
Not meant to soothe: How the truths of fiction can challenge and stirIranian American author Azar Nafisi explores fiction as a means of engaging with the world, rather than retreating from it in 鈥淩ead Dangerously.鈥�
Explorer, deserter, spy: The man who discovered the lost city of AlexandriaThe lost city of Alexander the Great was found by a man whose story went untold. Now Edmund Richardson explores his life in 鈥淭he King鈥檚 Shadow.鈥澛�
Consolation in solitude: Retracing the steps of Henry David ThoreauIn a time of grief, Ben Shattuck follows in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, and shares his journey with humor and insight in 鈥淪ix Walks.鈥澛�
Mill workers, suffragists, and 鈥楻osie the Riveter鈥� helped change the definition of 鈥榳oman鈥�In 鈥淲oman: The American History of an Idea,鈥澛燣illian Faderman聽argues that as American women emerged from the home, forces conspired to push them back.
鈥楧ecent鈥� Harry Truman, thrust into the presidency, kept US afloat in wartimeIn 鈥淭he Trials of Harry Truman,鈥澛燡effrey Frank details the making of a president, whose decisions included dropping atomic bombs on Japan.聽 聽
Whispers, lies, and coercion fail to vanquish truthTwo novels, 鈥淥ur American Friend鈥� and聽鈥淚 Must Betray You,鈥� focus on the effects of distortions and lies on people trapped in authoritarian regimes.聽
Through a 鈥榮acred lens鈥�: Essays on looking deeply and moving forward海角大神 writers across the spectrum reflect on challenges and epiphanies in 鈥淏reaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year.鈥�
What ties families together 鈥� and pulls them apartIn the deftly crafted family portrait 鈥淔rench Braid,鈥� Anne Tyler examines a long marriage and its effects on the couple and their children.聽
An Afghan refugee risks everything: A tale of danger, hope, courageIn 鈥淭he Naked Don鈥檛 Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees,鈥� Matthieu Aikins documents a perilous escape from Afghanistan.
Unearthing the last slave ship: A tale of suffering 鈥� and reckoningIn 鈥淭he Last Slave Ship,鈥� Ben Raines reconstructs a harrowing journey across the Atlantic, then chronicles the resilience of the survivors.
The Index: A humble but mighty tool to bring order to chaos鈥淚ndex, A History of the鈥� by Dennis Duncan, offers a surprisingly entertaining account of an overlooked, even underrated, organizational tool.聽
Did the family of John Wilkes Booth miss the warning signs?In the novel 鈥淏ooth,鈥� Karen Joy Fowler illuminates the family and the milieu that produced John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.聽
Beatrix Potter: Illustrator, storyteller, farmer, and ... scientist?If Beatrix Potter had realized her early dream of becoming a scientist, would there have been a 鈥淧eter Rabbit鈥�? A new book wonders.
What America鈥檚 treatment of the bald eagle says about the nation itself鈥淭he Bald Eagle,鈥� by Jack E. Davis, explores the cultural history of the raptor, who was revered as a national symbol, but reviled by early settlers.聽
Thwarted: The massive terrorist attack that never came to beFive years after 9/11, terrorists plotted a similar attack. In a gripping saga, Aki J. Peritz details the heroic intelligence work that stopped it.聽
A Black historian journeys south to confront the past 鈥� and presentIn her highly personal travelogue 鈥淪outh to America,鈥� Alabama-born Imani Perry tackles attitudes and encounters below the Mason-Dixon Line.
A whole world of food is vanishing. Dan Saladino explains why that matters.鈥淓ating to Extinction鈥� warns of the limits of modern agriculture when it comes to building a healthy relationship with food 鈥� and the natural world.聽
Frederick Law Olmsted and H.H. Richardson: The design dream team of the 19th centuryThe friendship between Frederick Law Olmsted and Henry Hobson Richardson led to fruitful collaborations in 鈥淎rchitects of an American Landscape.鈥�
Five romance novels celebrate belonging, friendship, and foodNot just for Valentine鈥檚 Day, these books treat readers to stories about belonging, whether it鈥檚 to a couple, a set of friends, or a community.聽
