All Book Reviews
'A Disappearance in Damascus' is the story of a journalist’s hunt for a kidnapped Iraqi colleagueThe thriller, mystery novel-quality of this true story will keep readers turning pages.
'Red Famine' chronicles the ruin wrought upon Ukraine by Joseph Stalin'Gulag' author Anne Applebaum gives a chorus of contemporary voices to the tale, and her book is written in the light of later history.
'Devotions' collects five decades of poetry by Mary OliverOliver's work charts those moments when the temporal is touched by the transcendental.
'Leonardo da Vinci' may be Walter Isaacson's most unusual subject everIsaacson concludes that Leonardo’s outsider status helped to feed his development.
'The Gourmands' Way' examines France's powerful, ongoing influence on American dinersAuthor Justin Spring offers profiles of six talented American writers who were also gourmands, including the legendary and luminary Julia Child, essayist M.F.K. Fisher, and artist-turned-culinary savant Richard Olney.
'Code Girls' tells the captivating story of America's female World War II codebreakersLike 'Hidden Figures,' this well-crafted book reveals a remarkable slice of unacknowledged US history.
'Sing, Unburied, Sing' is a road novel, a ghost story, a family epicIt’s easy to see why Ward’s new novel has been called a 'Beloved' for the incarcerated generation, but there are also echoes of William Faulkner and Eudora Welty.
'Grant' vigorously portrays its subject as a great military leader, champion of rights, honest manBiographer Ron Chernow returns with his latest take on a historical figure, which largely rewrites Grant's legacy.
'Nine Continents' is Chinese author Xiaolu Guo’s resonant memoir about leaving her pastAlmost 20 years since she published her first novel in China, Xiaolu Guo lays bare her first 40 years in a single book.
'A Bold and Dangerous Family' ably chronicles one Italian family's battle against MussoliniMoorehead, who grew up in Italy and speaks Italian, portrays the trials and intrigues of the Rosselli clan in intimate detail.
'The Future Is History' is a dark examination of what went wrong in RussiaRussian-American journalist and activist Masha Gessen focuses on four brave resisters to Russian totalitarianism.
'A Moonless, Starless Sky' tells the stories of the courageous figures who stand up to extremismThe book is the result of Alexis Okeowo’s tenure spent reporting in Africa over the past decade.
'Unbelievable' chronicles the 'most unlikely, exciting, ugly ... bizarre campaign' in US historyNBC asked Tur to cover a couple of Trump events while the network’s political reporters followed more serious contenders. Five hundred and ten days later, she watched as Trump won.
'At the Strangers' Gate' is Adam Gopnik's captivating story of a couple finding their way in the Big AppleGopnik's new memoir is sure to become as beloved as 'Paris to the Moon.'
'Coming to My Senses' tells the story of Chez Panisse icon Alice WatersAlice Waters's memoir is a mixed salad of various elements, some engaging, some less so.
'True Gentlemen' analyzes the troubling co-dependence of colleges and fraternitiesBy further exposing the profound problems with fraternities, Bloomberg News writer John Hechinger has made a far more valuable contribution to American college life than any fraternity ever could.
'Alone' examines the cinematic appeal of the 'England alone' World War II scenarioThe book's memoir framing-device gives author Michael Korda a measure of dramatic license, and he uses it to good effect. "Alone" is relentlessly involving reading, full of masterfully-drawn set pieces.
'Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities' succeeds as both vibrant history and personal tributeBettany Hughes wonderfully tells the story of a city that has been many things at many different times.
'Little Soldiers' examines the Chinese education system from the insideJournalist Lenora Chu had privileged access into the academic world, further enhanced by her son Rainey’s admission into one of Shanghai’s most prestigious kindergartens.
'An Odyssey' is a father-son journey with Homer as guideA classics professor learns much when his father becomes his student.
