All Books
'The Quiet Side of Passion' is another McCall Smith tale of the triumph of good
'City of Devils' tells the story of two Westerners who reigned in old ShanghaiFrench, author of 2012's bestselling 'Midnight in Peking,' has lived and worked in Shanghai, and tells a fascinating story of two of the central characters of the demimonde of old Shanghai.
'Three Not-So-Ordinary Joes' wonderfully explores the links of literary influenceHow witty British literati Addison and Steele left their mark on America's Southern literature, via Uncle Remus.
'Not the Girls You're Looking For' follows a rudderless Iraqi AmericanThis dark but clever YA novel confronts topics that are not tidy 鈥� because, as Safi reminds us, these are not tidy times.
'Indianapolis' resolves a long uncertain World War II tragedyWith help from an elementary school student, a naval captain has finally been exonerated.
'A Bite-Sized History of France' delightfully combines French history with gastronomyWhatever this rollicking survey lacks in focus, it more than makes up for with its brisk, witty, imaginative voice.
Afghan women write their own stories to fight for gender equityFree Women Writers, a nonprofit in Afghanistan, strives to foster a shift in thinking about women in a nation rife with gender-based violence. It has published poems, memoirs, and articles written by more than 140 women and creates scholarships for women with the proceeds.
'Barons of the Sea' chronicles the race to build the perfect clipper shipClipper ships are the dream floating before the eyes of all the characters in Steven Ujifusa's fast-paced and entrancing new book.
'Carbon Ideologies' examines 鈥� exhaustively 鈥� non-renewable energyThese fat volumes are full of scientific exposition, data in charts, and dozen-page interviews, all to make the point that our understanding of the perils of nonrenewable energy may be too little, too late.
'What We Were Promised' depicts post-Mao China in a deft debut novel set in ShanghaiSet against a contemporary global backdrop, Tan explores the timeless servant-master class conflict.
10 best books of July: the Monitor's picksFrom India's elite to French gastronomy to 19th-century Shanghai, here are the new July titles that most impressed the Monitor's book critics.聽
'The Wonderful Mr. Willughby' profiles a pioneer of ornithology and early scientistWillughby was a citizen scientist, a foot soldier in the war against ignorance.
'A Terrible Country' follows an ex-pat who returns to experience life in RussiaAn academic learns to see Russia through the eyes of his 90-year-old grandmother.聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
'Don't Make Me Pull Over' celebrates the family road tripAdvertising copywriter Richard Ratay says his own fond memories inspired him to research the history of the family road trip.
'The Poisoned City' tells the horrific story of Flint's contaminated waterAnna Clark's brutally honest book takes us from point A to point Z.
Romantic or racist? Perceptions shift on 'Little House on the Prairie'When racism is revealed in a beloved children鈥檚 classic, it raises questions about how best to respect child readers and provide them with the tools to explore themselves and the world around them.聽聽
'First In Line' profiles modern vice presidents from Nixon to PenceJournalist Kate Brower interviewed all of the former living vice presidents among the 200 subjects she spoke to and her extensive reporting pays off.
3 books for deep summer readingFor readers for whom 'summer reading' means 'a really long book,' here are three pleasing giants.
'What to Read and Why' shares a personal love of authors and titlesFrancine Prose鈥檚 wide-ranging oeuvre encompasses everything from biographies of Anne Frank and the painter Caravaggio to young adult novels about bullying and sex.
'Verdi' takes a lively approach to uncovering the man behind the art'The Man Revealed' is an introduction to Verdi, as a man rather than as a composer. Suchet takes great pains not to get bogged down in boring details or obscure music theory.