All Book Reviews
Recovering a sense of wonder in a post-lockdown worldThe pandemic has left many people in the doldrums, including 鈥淲intering鈥� author Katherine May. In 鈥淓nchantment,鈥� she sets out on a journey to recapture a sense of awe in the everyday.
Coming-of-age novel overflows with humor, heartache, and honestyA Pakistani American girl narrates her life in 鈥淩oses, in the Mouth of a Lion,鈥� a novel that touches on a Muslim family, their community, and difficult choices.聽
Can society move beyond unachievable standards of motherhood?Author聽Jessica Grose urges mothers, when faced with impossible demands, to ask 鈥淒oes this help me improve my relationship with my children? And does this help my community? If the answer is neither, push back.鈥�
Wunderkind British explorer鈥檚 life demonstrates ice-hard resolveThe young British explorer Henry Watkins pursued impossible expeditions, leading men 鈥淚nto the Great Emptiness鈥� of Greenland鈥檚 ice cap. His leadership got them all home 鈥� eventually.聽
How Sarah Kidd, the wife of a pirate captain, reinvented herself鈥淭he Pirate鈥檚 Wife鈥� tells the true story of Sarah Kidd, who was married to 18th-century privateer Capt. William Kidd. Her fortitude and adaptability helped her and her children survive.聽
The defusing of the Cuban missile crisis involved delicate diplomacyJFK carefully threaded a solution, which included a series of hard lines and face-saving measures that allowed the Soviets to withdraw their missiles peacefully.聽
鈥業 cannot allow these people to die鈥�: Saving Jews in World War IIDuring the Holocaust, unlikely heroes worked to get Jewish people out of harm鈥檚 way. The inspiring stories of these individuals, who were not Jewish, are told in 鈥淚n the Garden of the Righteous.鈥澛�
When everything breaks down, what does it take to survive?On an isolated island in Maine, a woman is pushed to the brink to save her family, in Meghan Gilliss鈥� debut novel 鈥淟ungfish.鈥澛�
Hooray for Hollywood: A history of the cinemaCandid stories from actors, directors, and studio hands offer insider views in聽鈥淗ollywood: The Oral History.鈥�
鈥楯ust give love鈥�: One man鈥檚 tireless care for homeless peopleAuthor Tracy Kidder shines a spotlight on Jim O鈥機onnell, a Harvard-trained doctor who has spent 40 years caring for unhoused individuals in Boston, in 鈥淩ough Sleepers.鈥澛犅�
The life of the playwright behind 鈥楧eath of a Salesman鈥�Arthur Miller鈥檚 impact on American theater was seismic. New Yorker drama critic John Lahr delves into Miller鈥檚 life, and the plays that made him famous.聽
Brought up in one family, but belonging to anotherStolen from the hospital as a newborn, she grew up thinking the woman who raised her was her mother. Learning the truth as an adult leads to soul-searching in the novel 鈥淢other Tongue.鈥�
The uneasy 鈥榠nbetweenness鈥� of lives that cross bordersIn Manuel Mu帽oz鈥檚 short story collection 鈥淭he Consequences,鈥� each individual receives the gift of consideration. These are lives as deserving of attention and grace as any other.聽
Where morality and politics collide: How Abraham Lincoln held his groundLincoln was by no means perfect, but his convictions took the country forward, writes historian Jon Meacham in 鈥淎nd There Was Light.鈥�
Samuel Adams sparked the flame of the American RevolutionMore than his cousin John Adams, Samuel Adams stirred anti-Crown sentiment among the colonists that helped the American Revolution take root.聽
How Native Americans鈥� resistance shaped the United States鈥淚ndigenous Continent鈥� presents a complex view of Native Americans as significant actors whose opposition and resilience impacted the formation of the country.
The Himalayas exert a pull on Western imaginationExplorers, armies, and tourists over centuries wrought changes to the Tibetan plateau, writes John Keay in聽鈥淗im膩laya: Exploring the Roof of the World.鈥澛�
Misinformation isn鈥檛 new. Colonial America was rife with it.In 鈥淢isinformation Nation,鈥� historian Jordan E. Taylor explores America鈥檚 long history of partisan news.聽聽
The path to Hiroshima and Nagasaki began with the firebombing of Tokyo'Black Snow' examines the U.S. firebombing of Tokyo in 1945, and public attitudes toward targeting civilians, which set the stage for聽 use of the atomic bomb.聽聽
Ian McEwan鈥檚 鈥楲essons鈥� explores complex emotional terrainThe novel "Lessons" by Ian McEwan traces the arc of a man鈥檚 life, and the struggle to overcome the stain of early abuse, to find his footing.
