All Book Reviews
'Over the Hills and Far Away': a pleasing re-telling of the life of Beatrix PotterNearly 75 years after Potter's passing, she still is one of the most famous children’s writers in the world.
'Prince Charles' paints an affectingly human portraitVeteran royals biographer Sally Bedell Smith worked on this book for years, interviewing dozens of court figures and talking many times with members of the royal family.
'Blitzed' details drug abuse in the Third Reich, from foot soldiers to the FührerThe true dark stars of 'Blitzed' are Hitler and a quack doctor named Theodor Morell, who kept the head of the Third Reich hopped up on dangerously addictive drugs.
'Flight of the Raven' is a captivating tale of life in occupied Paris in 1944The much-heralded graphic novel 'Flight of the Raven' is finally available in English.
'The Islamic Jesus' seeks commonalities between Christianity, Judaism, IslamTurkish journalist Mustafa Akyol presses his case about just how relevant Jesus is to his faith today.
'Strange the Dreamer' is a young adult masterpiece to be savoredIf you ever loved Philip Pullman’s 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, puzzled over Greek mythology, or read literally any fairy tale, 'Strange the Dreamer' will move you.
'The World Remade' questions the entry of the US into World War IJournalist-turned-popular historian G.J. Meyer details the skewed perspective the Woodrow Wilson administration maintained toward Germany and Austria-Hungary.
'Richard Nixon' is one of the smartest and most insightful of Nixon biosJohn Farrell tries to be fair to the man, including on one of the central questions of the scandal that defined him: What did the president know and when did he know it?
'Casey Stengel' profiles baseball's greatest character'Casey Stengel" is a wonderful romp through America's collective field of dreams.
'The World to Come' blends history and fiction in a short story collectionJim Shepard's work is an astonishingly powerful demonstration of fiction’s capacity to transport us across time and space.
'A Land Without Borders' rethinks the two-state solution in the Middle EastMarking the 50-year anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, a Jewish activist travels the Middle East in search of answers.
'The Confessions of Young Nero' skillfully reshapes the image of NeroIn a historical novel that makes for delightful reading, best-selling writer Margaret George gives her readers a more sensitive, introspective version of teen-heartthrob Nero.
'No One Cares About Crazy People' cries for more attention for the mentally illPulitzer Prize-winning writer Ron Powers draws on heart-wrenching personal experience in writing about the way society treats the mentally ill.
'A Colony in a Nation' describes a colony of the unfree within the USJournalist Chris Hayes argues that some US politicians and law enforcement officials act as if whole areas of America constitute a separate realm of less value where different rules apply.
'Silly Symphonies Volume 2' delights with more classic Disney comic stripsThis is a handsome book with lots of extras to enhance the marvelous comic strips.
'This Long Pursuit' is a biographer's paean to his craftIn the most pleasing possible way, biographer Richard Holmes comes across in his own collected writing as contagiously curious, casually erudite, and just a bit daft.
'Fallen Glory' explores the most famous buildings that no longer existScottish historian James Crawford finds meaning in lost landmarks.
'March 1917' follows Russia and the US in a year that shaped the futureJournalist Will Englund suggests that World War I set both the United States and Russia on the paths they would follow for the next century.
'Temporary People' depicts the lives of guest workers in the UAENovelist Deepak Unnikrishnan tells tales of 'people from elsewhere' who live as perpetual foreigners, often in fear, with precarious futures.
Three terrific new novels for young readersNothing signals spring better than a newly-published crop of books. These three novels for middle-grade readers (ages 8-14), feature interesting young narrators and strong, unique stories.
