All Book Reviews
'Grand Opera: The Story of the Met,' a biography of America's flagship opera company, informs and amusesCharles Affron and Mirella Jona Affron carefully and engagingly trace the history of the Metropolitan Opera from its birth in 1883 to the present day.
'Brown Girl Dreaming' blends history and personal memories into lovely verseJacqueline Woodson's memoir-in-verse is filled with perfect tiny moments about family, about friends, and about writing and reading, and about following your dreams.
'After We Kill You, We Will Welcome You Back as Honored Guests' offers an unvarnished but informed view of life on the ground in AfghanistanTed Rall's writing and cartooning creates a series of blunt, witty, and precarious images of his experiences in Afghanistan.
'Michelangelo' traces the tensions of Michelangelo's era in his workMichelangelo was one of the first artists to demand to be treated not just as an artisan but as an aristocrat of the spirit.
'The Bone Clocks' is fantastic, ambitious, messy, and highly creative'The Bone Clocks,' a series of six interlinking novellas, was a finalist for the Booker Prize.
'Liar Temptress Soldier Spy' finds thrills and chills in Civil War historyFour women 鈥� two Union sympathizers and two proud Rebels 鈥� served their causes in surprising fashions during the US Civil War.
'The Roosevelts: An Intimate History,' by Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns, makes a gorgeous companion to the PBS seriesTheodore, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt believed that they could do great things 鈥� and succeeded more often than not.
'On Tocqueville' examines the life and work of one of America's most prescient observersAlexis de Tocqueville was only 25 when he visited the United States in 1831 but his book remains influential to this day.聽
'World Order' by Henry Kissinger is spellbinding and convincing 鈥� when it isn't frustrating and contradictoryKissinger is a thinker of the first order who lays out cool, careful, and sometimes brilliant principles 鈥� only to ignore them when it suits his purposes.
'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' is a window into the cruelty of warAn Australian surgeon suffers in a Japanese POW camp on the Thai-Burma Death Railway, even as he struggles with memories of an affair with the spouse of a family member.
'The Secret Place' is certain to rank among the best mysteries of the yearA Dublin detective finds a group of teenage girls to be as mysterious as the murder case he must unravel.
'Getting Schooled' takes an honest look at the life of a teacherA classroom veteran examines the struggle to love his work.
'Conversion' resets the Salem witch trials in a preppy girls' school'Mean Girls' meets 'Prep' meets the Salem witch trials to create a contemporary page-turner.聽
'Bob, Son of Battle' comes alive in a wonderful new editionAward-winning author and translator Lydia Davis scraped away some 'taxing overgrowth' to enhance the rough beauty of Alfred Ollivant's classic dog story.
'The Wrong Carlos': Was an innocent man executed?Law professor James Liebman says a Texas case reveals the injustice of the death penalty.
'The Invention of Exile' is a poignant tale of an immigrant's loss and longingVanessa Manko鈥檚 wistful, perceptive debut novel tells the story of a Russian engineer who yearns for his family during a stateless exile in Mexico City.
'Infidel Kings and Unholy Warriors' brings nuance and complexity to the age of CrusadesScholar Brian Catlos argues that the Crusades were more a struggle for power than a battle about religion, and聽stresses the many moments of cultural integration and strategic cooperation during the era.
'Lisette's List' is aimed at Francophiles and art loversSusan Vreeland's latest focuses on a collection of paintings hidden during the Nazi occupation of France and then unearthed after the war.
'Augustus: First Emperor of Rome' intrigues with its view of Roman politicsWhile parallels between ancient Rome and the US are revealing, our contemporary political scandals are mundane by the standards of antiquity.
'Football: Great Writing About the National Sport' touches on the good, bad, and the uglyEditor John Schulian does not turn away from the dark side of football, but neither does he forget the joy, inspiration, and even the humor to be found in the game.
