All Book Reviews
‘Wilderness Tales’ unfolds short stories with a sense of placeCollected stories about the wild, uncharted frontiers of North America expand to include everything from classic nature tales to dystopian climate fiction.
First Black presidential candidate: How Shirley Chisholm paved the wayShirley Chisholm blazed the trail for generations of Black Americans in politics. A new biography takes a deeper look at the “brilliant strategist, inventive intellectual, and flawed human.”
A Confederate spy plots to build the South’s navy with England’s help“The Lion and the Fox” tells the history of a Confederate sympathizer dispatched to England to secretly build a fleet of ships, and the U.S. consul in Liverpool who was determined to stop him.
No obstacle too tall for this Ugandan wildlife veterinarianTo protect animals in Uganda, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka found she needed to help villagers find work and learn to value their role in caring for wildlife. Her memoir “Walking with Gorillas” reveals her dedication and persistence.
Lawlessness, violence, courage: A battle for the AmazonLaborers looking to carve out small farms in the Amazon at the Brazilian government's behest have run afoul of big ranching, mining, and timber companies that exploit both land and workers.
Tracing the evangelical roots of white nationalismThe seeds of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol were germinating for decades, posits religion scholar Bradley Onishi in “Preparing for War.”
Recovering a sense of wonder in a post-lockdown worldThe pandemic has left many people in the doldrums, including “Wintering” author Katherine May. In “Enchantment,” she sets out on a journey to recapture a sense of awe in the everyday.
Coming-of-age novel overflows with humor, heartache, and honestyA Pakistani American girl narrates her life in “Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion,” a novel that touches on a Muslim family, their community, and difficult choices.
Can society move beyond unachievable standards of motherhood?Author Jessica Grose urges mothers, when faced with impossible demands, to ask “Does this help me improve my relationship with my children? And does this help my community? If the answer is neither, push back.”
Wunderkind British explorer’s life demonstrates ice-hard resolveThe young British explorer Henry Watkins pursued impossible expeditions, leading men “Into the Great Emptiness” of Greenland’s ice cap. His leadership got them all home – eventually.
How Sarah Kidd, the wife of a pirate captain, reinvented herself“The Pirate’s Wife” tells the true story of Sarah Kidd, who was married to 18th-century privateer Capt. William Kidd. Her fortitude and adaptability helped her and her children survive.
The defusing of the Cuban missile crisis involved delicate diplomacyJFK carefully threaded a solution, which included a series of hard lines and face-saving measures that allowed the Soviets to withdraw their missiles peacefully.
‘I cannot allow these people to die’: Saving Jews in World War IIDuring the Holocaust, unlikely heroes worked to get Jewish people out of harm’s way. The inspiring stories of these individuals, who were not Jewish, are told in “In the Garden of the Righteous.”
When everything breaks down, what does it take to survive?On an isolated island in Maine, a woman is pushed to the brink to save her family, in Meghan Gilliss’ debut novel “Lungfish.”
Hooray for Hollywood: A history of the cinemaCandid stories from actors, directors, and studio hands offer insider views in “Hollywood: The Oral History.”
‘Just give love’: One man’s tireless care for homeless peopleAuthor Tracy Kidder shines a spotlight on Jim O’Connell, a Harvard-trained doctor who has spent 40 years caring for unhoused individuals in Boston, in “Rough Sleepers.”
The life of the playwright behind ‘Death of a Salesman’Arthur Miller’s impact on American theater was seismic. New Yorker drama critic John Lahr delves into Miller’s life, and the plays that made him famous.
Brought up in one family, but belonging to anotherStolen from the hospital as a newborn, she grew up thinking the woman who raised her was her mother. Learning the truth as an adult leads to soul-searching in the novel “Mother Tongue.”
The uneasy ‘inbetweenness’ of lives that cross bordersIn Manuel Muñoz’s short story collection “The Consequences,” each individual receives the gift of consideration. These are lives as deserving of attention and grace as any other.
Where morality and politics collide: How Abraham Lincoln held his groundLincoln was by no means perfect, but his convictions took the country forward, writes historian Jon Meacham in “And There Was Light.”
