All Book Reviews
'Sea Power' views the world's oceans as crucial avenues of hope and danger'Sea Power' author and admiral James Stavridis has created a thoroughly fascinating look at how the world's major bodies of water and politics intersect.
'The Windfall' adroitly probes questions of money and true worthWhen an East Delhi man sells his website sale for a 'windfall,' he and his wife struggle to adjust to a newly luxuriously style of life.
'John Quincy Adams' shares the diary of America's most passionate presidentTo mark the 250th anniversary of John Quincy Adams's birth, the Library of America has brought out a spell-binding edition of his life-long diary.
'Kennedy and King' portrays two giants of 1960s AmericaPresident John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King are profiled in parallel but unconnected stories.
'The Trial of Adolf Hitler' details the 'what if' moments of the 1923 putschDavid King's engrossing and well-researched new book provides context explaining why so many tolerated Hitler before and after his failed beer hall putsch.
'Be Free or Die' profiles former slave and US Congressman Robert SmallsThis neat piece of narrative history explores a remarkable life story that deserves a wider audience.
'The Essex Serpent' pits nature against faith in a fabulous summer readA Loch Ness-like monster last seen in the late 1600s rears its head again in this delightful novel set in the Victorian era.
'Adua' explores the relationship between colonizer and colonizedSomali-Italian author and journalist Igiaba Scego writes with forthright simplicity and unblinking honesty.
'Huê 1968' is an instantly recognizable classic of military historyIn this story of the turning point of the Vietnam War, 'Black Hawk Down' author Bowden wades into deeper historical waters.
'I Was Told To Come Alone' is one reporter's up-close look at jihadJournalist Souad Mekhennet has reported on terrorism for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, and NPR.
'Daring to Drive' is one Saudi woman's story of the obstacles to her freedomManal Sharif hoped – but failed – to find a way to live and work as a single woman in Saudi Arabia.
Three delightful summer reads for 8-to-12-year-old readersFrom dueling grandmothers to tree-top protests, these middle-grade summer reads really sing.
'House of Names' is Colm Tóibín's take on the House of AtreusThe author of 'The Master' and 'Brooklyn' takes on one of the greatest and most wrenching stories of classical myth.
'The Outer Beach' captures the sense of enchantment found on Cape CodRobert Finch is today's best, most perceptive Cape Cod writer in a line extending all the way back to Henry David Thoreau.
'Benjamin Franklin' takes a more nuanced look at Franklin's views of GodAccording to this new biography, Franklin started wrestling with religion and morality as a teenager and never stopped pondering the natures of God, humanity, and the universe.
'Wrestling with His Angel' follows Lincoln through his 'wilderness years'Biographer Sidney Blumenthal finds a deeply fascinating story in an often overlooked period of Lincoln's life.
'When Dimple Met Rishi' is a zippy, charming update on arranged marriageRishi Patel plans for a stable, predictable career at his father's Silicon Valley tech firm, while Dimple Shah is aiming for the stars. Do their parents know something that they don't?
'The Exile' is a nearly day-by-day account of Bin Laden's life post-9/11Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy's work is a truly impressive feat of journalism and also an intensely gripping reading experience.
'The Russian Revolution' is a superb account of this seminal eventBard College professor Sean McMeekin is a reliable guide to a complex story and his book moves seamlessly and clearly across a vast landscape of people and events.
'Churchill & Orwell' profiles two icons in the fight against totalitarianismHistorian Thomas Ricks asserts that, despite their differences, a deep commitment to human freedom gave Winston Churchill and George Orwell common cause.
