All Book Reviews
How Jefferson鈥檚 鈥榩ursuit of happiness鈥� phrase came to beHistorian Peter Moore examines six Enlightenment thinkers who influenced Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 drafting of the Declaration of Independence.聽
How the changing world affected Mozart鈥檚 music, piece by pieceFrom the Enlightenment to the French Revolution, the ideas swirling through Europe were absorbed and transmuted by Mozart into peerless music.聽 聽
鈥楾he Wounded World鈥� probes one of W.E.B. Du Bois鈥� greatest regretsEsteemed scholar W.E.B. Du Bois urged Black men to enlist in World War I. As a new book explores, the decision haunted him for the rest of his life.聽
鈥楲oot鈥� weaves an epic tale of imperialism, plunder, and autonomyIn this book, a gifted Indian artist pines for recognition, self-determination, and love across decades and continents.
鈥楾he End of Drum-Time鈥� weaves a poignant tale of clashing culturesSet in 19th-century Scandinavia, 鈥淭he End of Drum-Time鈥� pits the indigenous S谩mi聽people against European settlers trying to impose their religion and values.聽聽
How Black people were left behind in Civil War-era BostonAbolitionists鈥� 鈥渟oaring rhetoric of freedom and equality鈥� didn鈥檛 match the reality for Black workers struggling to earn a livelihood.
Julia Child, Jane Austen, and sleuths of a certain ageIn need of some armchair travel? Curl up with spring鈥檚 new mysteries where adventure abounds in San Francisco, Paris, and England.
鈥楥urveball鈥�: When spiritual skepticism leads to sturdier faithWhen his long-held religious assumptions no longer held up, Peter Enns took a deep dive into 海角大神ity. He surfaced with a more expansive faith, chronicled in 鈥淐urveball: When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming.鈥澛犅�
How an MIT scientist paved the way for women in scienceIn 1999, women in science celebrated a major victory when MIT admitted to gender discrimination and became a pacesetter for equality. Kate Zernike recounts the inspiring story in, 鈥淭he Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science.鈥�
Reviving woolly mammoths and a mom鈥檚 relationship with her daughtersWomen in science are trending in fiction as well as nonfiction. In the novel 鈥淭he Last Animal,鈥� a paleobiologist and her teenage daughters travel to Siberia to revive woolly mammoths.聽
Brilliant, prescient, troubled: The man behind Cold War containmentAs the architect of U.S. Cold War policy toward the Soviet Union, George F. Kennan believed his ideas had been badly misinterpreted. A powerful new biography probes a complex and often tormented man.聽
Sci-fi novel 鈥楥old People鈥� explores ethics of human bioengineeringAfter aliens banish humans to Antarctica, scientists develop a new breed of children who are super-adapted to frigid conditions in Tom Rob Smith鈥檚 dystopian novel 鈥淐old People.鈥澛犅�
Grief and resilience: Lessons from Emerson, Thoreau, and JamesThe three 19th-century American thinkers transmuted grief and loss into works of great power and eloquence, which speak to modern-day audiences.聽
Two white abolitionists discover Black family members. Complexity ensues.Kerri K. Greenidge explores the complicated legacy of the Grimkes, white abolitionist sisters whose Black nephews were subjected to their aunts鈥� conflicting motives and expectations.聽
鈥榃ilderness Tales鈥� unfolds short stories with a sense of placeCollected stories about the wild, uncharted frontiers of North America expand to include everything from classic nature tales to dystopian climate fiction.聽
First Black presidential candidate: How Shirley Chisholm paved the wayShirley Chisholm blazed the trail for generations of Black Americans in politics. A new biography takes a deeper look at the 鈥渂rilliant strategist, inventive intellectual, and flawed human.鈥澛�
A Confederate spy plots to build the South鈥檚 navy with England鈥檚 help鈥淭he Lion and the Fox鈥� tells the history of a Confederate sympathizer dispatched to England to secretly build a fleet of ships, and the U.S. consul in Liverpool who was determined to stop him.聽
No obstacle too tall for this Ugandan wildlife veterinarianTo protect animals in Uganda, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka聽found she needed to help villagers find work and learn to value their role in caring for wildlife. Her memoir 鈥淲alking with Gorillas鈥� reveals her dedication and persistence.聽 聽
Lawlessness, violence, courage: A battle for the AmazonLaborers looking to carve out small farms in the Amazon at the Brazilian government's behest have run afoul of big ranching, mining, and timber companies that exploit both land and workers.聽
Tracing the evangelical roots of white nationalismThe seeds of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol were germinating for decades, posits religion scholar Bradley Onishi in 鈥淧reparing for War.鈥澛犅�
