All Book Reviews
Cary Grant’s charm was legendary, but his best character was actually himselfIn Scott Eyman’s thorough biography, the actor comes across as a man who hid behind his debonair persona, to the detriment of his relationships.
‘The Upswing’: From personal gain to common good and back againRobert D. Putnam assesses the schisms and swings in 20th-century American politics – and why there’s hope for the future.
‘The Good American’: One man struggled to make the world rightAs America stepped into conflicts across the world in the late 20th century, one bureaucrat took on the thankless task of tallying up the human cost.
‘His Only Wife’ turns fairytale tropes upside downWhen a poor young woman is offered the hand of a rich young man, the marriage seems like it should solve her problems. What happens when it doesn’t?
‘James Monroe’ is an unclouded look at a complicated legacyBiographers find themselves reckoning with the Founding Fathers’ complicity in slavery – and James Monroe is no exception.
‘Simon the Fiddler’ explores the redemptive power of musicA musician, conscripted into the Confederate Army in the waning days of the Civil War, finds reasons for hope.
Humorist David Sedaris delivers his choicest material in ‘The Best of Me’A mainstay on the bestseller lists, the often wry and deadpan Sedaris takes a victory lap with this amusing collection of published work.
‘Red Comet’ is the biography Sylvia Plath has always deservedPlath is often reduced to a punchline or mythologized as a “high priestess of poetry.” A new biography paints a more generous – and human – portrait.
Poet Ted Kooser’s ‘Red Stilts’: Beauty in small momentsTed Kooser doesn't need much at all, really, to help you see vibrancy and joy. Muddy tire tracks and lumber with a lick of paint will do.
Lincoln brought strength of character – and backwoods wit – to governingThe 16th president faced daunting challenges during the Civil War. Two new biographies demonstrate that he was equal to the task.
Martin Amis delivers the ‘Inside Story,’ a sprawling autobiographical novelThe British novelist writes from a position of gratitude – toward family, friends, and mentors – rather than from anger or self-pity.
Barbara Kingsolver’s poems gently mock how-to books“How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)” offers delightful bits of wisdom and humor, a balm during the pandemic.
‘Homeland Elegies’ weaves together a Muslim family and politicsAyad Akhtar orchestrates a fictionalized spinoff of his life, full of digressions, commentary, and a critique of American culture.
Korean American experience resonates in ‘The Prince of Mournful Thoughts’The longing for connection, for belonging, is woven throughout a dozen short stories in Caroline Kim’s superlative debut collection.
His appetite was legendary, his influence on food was lastingJames Beard championed American cuisine, mentored chefs, wrote cookbooks. His personal life was a struggle, as biographer John Birdsall explores.
Don’t write off Big Oil: The geopolitics of energy and securityDaniel Yergin’s “The New Map” provides a guide through the energy landscape, but gives short shrift to methane emissions and environmental activism.
The papyrus, the professor, and a scandal that ensnared Harvard Divinity SchoolJournalist Ariel Sabar explores the story of a respected Bible scholar who believed she had proof that Christ Jesus and Mary Magdalen were married.
Notre Dame cathedral survived fire, war, and Napoleon’s redecoratingIn “Notre-Dame: The Soul of Paris,” Agnès Poirier charts the 800-year history of the cathedral, a symbol of hope and endurance around the world.
Displaced: ‘The Last Million’ refugees to leave Europe after World War IIResettlement of refugees – among them 25,000 Jewish people – proceeded slowly, with many nations closing their doors.
‘Transcendent Kingdom’ offers quiet hope in the face of racismIn Yaa Gyasi's second novel, the daughter of a troubled immigrant family finds a way to combine science and faith in her career as a neuroscientist.
