All Book Reviews
鈥業 Am Nobody鈥檚 Slave鈥� charts a course toward intergenerational healingIn 鈥淚 Am Nobody鈥檚 Slave,鈥� memoirist Lee Hawkins reaches deep into his family history and finds redemption in understanding his roots.
A humble berry at the heart of a virtuous cycleRobin Wall Kimmerer reflects on the cooperation among plants and draws inspiration for human societies in 鈥淭he Serviceberry.鈥�
Raise the curtain on the 10 best books of JanuaryThe 10 best books of January 2025 embrace living on the edge, escaping convention, and confronting racism.
Music unlocks secrets about the design of the universeDaniel K.L. Chua鈥檚 expansive, eye-opening book documents how music from China to Greece has underpinned humanity鈥檚 search for joy.
End the year on a high note with the 10 best books of DecemberThe 10 best books of December include a spy novel, essays by physicist Alan Lightman, and a group biography of four women scientists in Nazi Germany.
Woodrow Wilson stood on the wrong side of historyIn 鈥淲oodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn,鈥� former U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox examines how the president undermined rights for women and Black people.
How Handel brought 鈥楾he Messiah鈥� to life in bleak timesIn 鈥滶very Valley,鈥� Charles King compellingly recounts how the composer, in a mere three weeks, wrote the soaring music for which he is best known today.聽
A year of plentiful prose: The best books of 2024The year鈥檚 best books include the novel 鈥淛ames鈥� by Percival Everett and a memoir by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Five glorious art books bring the gallery to your couchFrom Japanese printmaker Hokusai to women pioneers of the arts and crafts movement, the images in these volumes offer light and joy to art lovers.
The 10 best books of November set a bountiful table for readersDig in to the 10 best books of November, from Robin Wall Kimmerer鈥檚 nature essays to a biography of Johnny Carson.
鈥楾ime of the Child鈥� gently pulls back the layers of an Irish villageIn Irish novelist Niall Williams鈥� 鈥淭ime of the Child,鈥� an abandoned baby changes the lives of the village doctor, his daughter, and the townspeople.
Five children鈥檚 picture books bring beauty and delight to story timeGorgeously illustrated children鈥檚 books provide visual worlds to explore, while the books鈥� hopeful messages will cheer young and old alike.
Raising hens: A nature writer celebrates the humble chickenSy Montgomery fell in love with the chickens she raised. In 鈥淲hat the Chicken Knows,鈥� she reflects on their sociability and barnyard smarts.聽
Krakens, codes, and cliff-hangers: Six stories to delight young readersImmersive books for young readers include Kate DiCamillo鈥檚 鈥淭he Hotel Balzaar,鈥� Katherine Rundell鈥檚 鈥淚maginary Creatures,鈥� and four others.
Reagan left his mark on the Republican Party, and on the presidencyBiographer Max Boot charts the course of a politician who was famously affable and pragmatic, but who also resorted to racist dog whistles and played loose with facts.聽
Intervene or isolate? America鈥檚 role abroad has long been contested.America First was a rallying cry of isolationists in the 1930s. Charles Lindbergh, a spokesman for the movement, clashed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt over U.S. involvement.聽 聽
Justice delayed: Why it鈥檚 so hard to free the wrongfully convictedIn 鈥淏ringing Ben Home,鈥� Barbara Bradley Hagerty explores the long road toward exonerating Ben Spencer, a Black man imprisoned for a murder he didn鈥檛 commit.
October鈥檚 10 best books add up to a month of great readingThe 10 best books of October 2024 include a thrilling naval adventure, a novel about 19th-century New Orleans, and a history of Handel鈥檚 鈥淢essiah.鈥�
In 鈥楾he Message,鈥� Ta-Nehisi Coates urges his students to see for themselves鈥淭he Message鈥� is a collection of commentaries about African ancestry and identity, political power and polarity, and finally, a damning assessment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Americans are actually less divided than they think鈥淩emaking the Space Between Us鈥� counters the inclination to feel overwhelmed, angry, or helpless about civic life.聽
