All Book Reviews
Samuel Adams sparked the flame of the American RevolutionMore than his cousin John Adams, Samuel Adams stirred anti-Crown sentiment among the colonists that helped the American Revolution take root.
How Native Americans’ resistance shaped the United States“Indigenous Continent” presents a complex view of Native Americans as significant actors whose opposition and resilience impacted the formation of the country.
The Himalayas exert a pull on Western imaginationExplorers, armies, and tourists over centuries wrought changes to the Tibetan plateau, writes John Keay in “Himālaya: Exploring the Roof of the World.”
Misinformation isn’t new. Colonial America was rife with it.In “Misinformation Nation,” historian Jordan E. Taylor explores America’s long history of partisan news.
The path to Hiroshima and Nagasaki began with the firebombing of Tokyo'Black Snow' examines the U.S. firebombing of Tokyo in 1945, and public attitudes toward targeting civilians, which set the stage for use of the atomic bomb.
Ian McEwan’s ‘Lessons’ explores complex emotional terrainThe novel "Lessons" by Ian McEwan traces the arc of a man’s life, and the struggle to overcome the stain of early abuse, to find his footing.
What’s really worth doing? A philosopher weighs in.Adam Adatto Sandel’s “Happiness in Action: A Philosopher’s Guide to the Good Life” points out three keys to lasting satisfaction and joy.
The ‘improbable’ presidency of Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland was the “self-made, scrupulously honest” person Americans say they want in a president. So why isn’t he better remembered?
Baseball columnist Tyler Kepner sets up a history of the World Series“The Grandest Stage” by Tyler Kepner tells the offbeat stories behind MLB’s World Series with an eye toward the players who rose to the occasion.
Appalachian survival: ‘Demon Copperhead’ is a riveting, epic taleBarbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead” re-imagines Dickens’ “David Copperfield” as a story of survival set in the Appalachian Mountains.
For men torn down by war, getting back up is a battle worthy of hopeCombat veteran Bill Glose’s short stories in “All the Ruined Men” crack open the challenges faced by Gulf War soldiers and their families.
Vienna: City of ‘charm and flair,’ from Trajan to Mozart and beyondAngus Robertson’s “The Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna” provides readers with a deep background on this glittering city.
Manzanar camp novel explores moral culpability during World War IIA sweeping novel tells of a California ranching family in the 1940s, and the building of Manzanar camp to detain Japanese American citizens.
‘Hester’ imagines a backstory to Hawthorne’s ‘The Scarlet Letter’Hester Prynne refused to be shamed for her actions in “The Scarlet Letter.” Was Hawthorne writing about someone he knew?
In ‘Fairy Tale,’ Stephen King riffs on the classic hero’s questThe master of horror, Stephen King, comes up with a not-so-scary riff on fantasy stories and the hero’s quest in “Fairy Tale.”
A Medici princess rebels against her gilded cageSeeking agency over her life, a Medici bride plots to escape a loveless, and possibly lethal, union in “The Marriage Portrait” by Maggie O’Farrell.
A voice that wouldn’t be ignored: Nellie Bly and the pursuit of truthA novel about journalist Nellie Bly expands on the facts about her courageous efforts to expose abuses in a mental health facility for women.
Speaking whale? Scientists are working on it.Humankind may be closer to communicating with whales than we think, writes Tom Mustill in “How To Speak Whale.”
Sound advice: Audiobooks to thrill, delight, and spread hopeA quartet of outstanding audiobooks features the work of Simu Liu, Andy Weir, Louise Erdrich, and Anne Tyler. Their stories are laced with humor.
Jim Thorpe ran track and played football. He tried to outrun racism.As a talented, multisport athlete, Jim Thorpe, a Native American, faced prejudice and condescension because of his race.
