All Book Reviews
'The Fires of Spring' tries to make sense of Arab SpringVeteran Middle East hand Shelly Culbertson weaves history, culture, politics, and economics into a cohesive narrative.
'Jimmy Carter in Africa' profiles a Carter most Americans never knewNorth Carolina State University history professor Nancy Mitchell rewrites the narrative on the Carter years, insisting that the president was 'a Cold Warrior from day one.'
'The Murder of Mary Russell' explores the women closest to Sherlock Holmes'The Murder of Mary Russell' is the best installment in a series that so far has been excellent.
'The Lady with the Borzoi' profiles publishing legend Blanche KnopfAlfred and Blanche Knopf did not have a happy marriage but together they founded a publishing house with a genius for zeitgeist.
'The Translation of Love' seeks meaning amid the heartache of post-war TokyoThis debut novel by third-generation Japanese Canadian writer Lynn Kutsukake presents resonating testimony to humanity鈥檚 resilience.
'The Girl from Everywhere' is rich with pirates, time travel, and cartographyThis debut novel, featuring a time-traveling sea captain and his teenage daughter, is a sinuous and delightful read.
'Wind Sprints' serves up the wit of Joseph Epstein in bite-sized piecesEpstein excels at lively, instructive, and often funny essays. In 'Wind Sprints' he proves he can also write short.
'Prisoners of Hope' fully, shrewdly chronicles LBJ鈥檚 'Great Society'For liberals, Johnson鈥檚 domestic record ranks him among the greatest presidents in American history.
'High Dive' reimagines the IRA plot to assassinate Margaret ThatcherBased on the true story of a 1984 crime, Jonathan Lee's debut novel follows the young IRA recruit assigned to the deadly mission.
'Frederick the Great' occasionally rises to greatnessThe foremost strength of Blanning's biography is its ability to capture the quicksilver nature of the mind of the fabled Prussian monarch.
'A Doubter's Almanac' brings deep insight to a story of genius squanderedThe son of a mathematical prodigy seeks 鈥� with compassion 鈥� to understand his father and his wasted gifts.
'The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder' shows a devotion to readersIn her letters, just as in her books and in person, Laura Ingalls Wilder is effortlessly sunny good company.
'The Little Red Chairs' poignantly asks how the displaced find homeEdna O鈥橞rien's latest novel spins a story loosely based on Radovan Karad啪i膰, the war criminal who eluded capture for 12 years following the Bosnian War ceasefire.
'Spain In Our Hearts' profiles the foreigners drawn into Spain's civil warThe Spanish Civil War exerted a strong influence over the writers and thinkers of its generation.
'Raoul Wallenberg' tells the story of the bureaucrat who fooled the NazisWallenberg, Swedish envoy and humanitarian, saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
'Until We Are Free' tells of Shirin Ebadi's fight for human rights in IranIranian activist Shirin Ebadi explains what working in the human rights field means by sharing what she has gained and lost throughout her journey.
'Charlotte Bront毛' is an irresistible biography of 'Jane Eyre' and its authorLiterary biographer Claire Harman鈥檚 retelling of the life of Charlotte Bront毛, published to coincide with the bicentennial of Bront毛鈥檚 birth, is a must-read, even for those familiar with the story.
'The Abundance' offers an exquisite collection of Annie Dillard's work over decadesAs 'The Abundance' makes clear, Annie Dillard writes better sentences than just about anyone alive.
'Putin Country' tries to explain the admiration Russians have for PutinLongtime NPR correspondent Anne Garrels examines the way many Russians have consolidated around Putin.
'The Immortal Irishman' profiles an Irish rebel who took America by stormThomas Francis Meagher crammed a lifetime of adventure into a few very significant decades.
