All Book Reviews
'Hero of the Empire' wonderfully recreates the epic of a young ChurchillCandice Millard's account of Churchill's capture and imprisonment while in Africa covering the Boer War as a journalist is vivid and full of life.
'Napoleon's Island' is a mesmerizing portrait of the deposed emperorThis deft, engaging historic novel makes delightfully good use of Napoleon's six dreary years of final exile.
'Forty Autumns' tells of one family, divided for decades by the Berlin WallAn American intelligence officer dramatizes the dangers and heartbreaks of a divided Germany by telling the story of her family, particularly her grandparents.
'Bolshoi Confidential' weaves history, scandal, art into a compelling surveyMorrison, who is a professor of music at Princeton University, gives the story of the Bolshoi a first-rate historical treatment.
'Hitler: Ascent 1889-1939' is the richest, most convincing portrait yetAfter Ian Kershaw's universally praised similar 1998 biography, do readers really need another Hitler study? The answer is yes.
'The Nix' cleverly mixes politics and a troubled mother-son relationshipNathan Hill's smart, empathetic novel involves an anti-immigrant politician and a disappearing mom.
'A Revolution in Color' fills in the cracks in the life of John Singleton CopleyBiographer Jane Kamensky puts to rest the myth of the great portraitist as an untutored savant.
'American Ulysses' is a game-changing biography of Ulysses S. GrantWe should be grateful to historian Ronald C. White for a thorough and nuanced biography of one of the most consequential figures in American history.
'Some Writer!' beautifully celebrates the life of E.B. WhiteThis innovative biography is aimed at readers aged 7-10, but will delight E.B. White fans of any age.
'The Pigeon Tunnel' pulls together captivating reminiscences from the remarkable life of John le CarréFifty-five years into his writing career, le Carré seems blessed with the ability to be endlessly fascinating.
'The Arab of the Future 2' sees Syria through the eyes of an outsiderCharlie Hebdo cartoonist Riad Sattouf's graphic novel recalls his own struggles, as a half Syrian six-year-old, to navigate life in the Middle East .
'Eyes on the Street' celebrates 'distinctly modest' urban legend Jane JacobsDespite a humble start, Jacobs's influence on urban planning is international, and her legacy spans the world.
'A Kingdom of their Own' tries to make sense of Afghanistan and the KarzaisWashington Post journalist Joshua Partlow takes a deeper look at Afghanistan, the Karzai clan, and their complex relationship to the United States.
'Blood in the Water' does a magnificent job of rewriting the Attica storyMichigan professor Heather Ann Thompson relies on exhaustive research to piece together a more accurate version of the 1971 Attica prison uprising and the brutal retaking of the facility.
'Corto Maltese: The Ethiopian' brings a legendary Italian comic figure to the USEuroComics' English editions of the world-renowned Italian series by creator Hugo Pratt continues with the latest volume 'Corto Maltese: The Ethiopian.'
'The Fix' seeks out strategies to solve the vexing problems facing nationsForeign Affairs managing editor Jonathan Tepperman travels widely to talk to the people and governments who are devising new and innovative strategies to hold chaos at bay and sometimes even improve things.
‘A Truck Full of Money’ is an engaging, contemporary, rags-to-riches storyPulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Kidder profiles both Paul English and the software-engineering world he inhabits.
'Moscow Nights' recalls Van Cliburn and the power of music to melt the cold warNigel Cliff tells the astonishing, engaging story of how a handsome young Texas piano prodigy stole the heart of the enemy.
'Yellowstone,' 'The Hour of the Land' celebrate, examine America's national parksDavid Quammen and Terry Tempest Williams take clear-eyed views of America's national park system.
'Wolf Boys' offers a disturbing insider view of drug dealingThis eye-witness account of drug dealing on the US-Mexico border shocks but fails to address larger questions.
