All Book Reviews
'Leadership in Turbulent Times' offers lessons from presidential greatsDoris Kearns Goodwin mines the leadership lessons of presidents she has previously profiled 鈥� Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and LBJ 鈥� in this moving albeit somewhat lacking survey.
'Rising out of Hatred' chronicles one man鈥檚 ideological metamorphosisDerek Black's account of turning away from a familial and ideological legacy of hate is at once disturbing and uplifting.
'Washington Black' uses the story of a talented young slave to explore identityThis elegant, nuanced tale reaches over three continents and spans eight years of the early 19th century, a time of scientific explorations and class expectations.
'Heartland' offers a bleak but compelling portrait of white povertyJournalist and professor Sarah Smarsh places her family at the center of a narrative that mixes dysfunction with resilience.
'The Battle of Arnhem' brings a wealth of new detail to a major World War II disasterBestselling historian Antony Beevor recounts the heartbreaking series of catastrophes that many Germans considered their last great victory of the war.
'Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret' is unflinching, engrossingFans of 'The Crown' will be fascinated by this deeper dive into the life of the sister who did not become queen.
'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' is flawed, remarkable, wrenching, movingThis fictionalized account of true events is the strangest of all genres: a mostly true story about a Holocaust romance.
'Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy' argues for a more serious re-reading of 'Little Women'These little women were tougher than you think, asserts author and gender studies expert Anne Boyd Rioux.
'The Most Dangerous Branch' portrays the Supreme Court as a threat to democracyFormer Newsweek legal affairs editor David A. Kaplan makes a strong and compelling case that the Supreme Court will remain over-involved in setting and amending policy and laws.
'Big Game' offers a provocative, warts-and-all portrait of the NFLMuch like its players, everything in pro football feels larger than life these days 鈥� especially controversies, which this book examines in abundance.
Three delightful new nature booksThree new books offer compelling visions of deserts, mirages, and bees.
'If Only' explores an adopted child's sense of a kaleidoscope of possibilitiesSixteen-year-old Ivy is seeking her biological mother, even as she struggles to process the multiple images of what her life could have been.
'The Mere Wife' brings new life to a classic in this reimagining of 'Beowulf'Novelist Maria Dahvana Headley plays with language as much as she plays with the plot of the epic poem.
'De Gaulle' paints an excellently clear portrait of a 20th-century mythBiographer Julian Jackson manages to be always thorough but never pedantic, always clarifying but never simplifying.- 'The Fighters' takes chilling account of the human toll of the Afghan warChivers, a former Marine, spent years talking with, traveling with, and studying six US fighters who served in Afghanistan.
'She Begat This' explores the revolutionary black womanhood of Lauryn Hill
'A Life of My Own' is biographer Claire Tomalin's chance to turn inwardTomalin also sounds a subtly feminist note, revealing how a woman who鈥檚 been a daughter, wife, and mother slowly found a life of her own in the reading and writing of books.
'The Chosen Wars' tells how Judaism redefined itself in AmericaToday鈥檚 Jewish community continues to be divided over issues related to assimilation and secularization.
'The Middleman' is the latest smart, entertaining thriller from Olen SteinhauerLoyal readers will be rewarded with an extended cameo from the star of Steinhauer鈥檚 'Tourist' trilogy.
'Fly Girls' tells the early history of women in aviationNPR contributor Keith O鈥橞rien profiles women who were brave and determined although not always victorious.
