All Book Reviews
'Moral Agents' dissects the critics who shaped mid-20th-century literatureOne of today’s most trenchant literary critics digs into some of the voices who defined American letters for their generation.
'American Warlord' struggles to tell an important story about West AfricaThe stories of former Liberian president and warlord Charles Taylor and his son Chucky highlight the suffering of the Liberian people.
'Target Tokyo' offers a gripping retelling of the Doolittle raid, complete with new detailJames Scott has written the definitive account of the 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo.
'Odysseus Abroad' views 'heroism' in the Age of Thatcher with gentle ironyA 22-year-old Indian-born man wakes up on an average day in his 1985 London studio apartment and sets off on a journey to see his uncle.
'The Discreet Hero' spins extortion, arson, adultery, and mysticism into literary fictionMaster of political intrigue and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa crafts a thriller of extortion and revenge on Peru’s northern coast.
'The Harder They Come' is T. Coraghessan Boyle's latest foray into the wild and weirdA troubled young man heads off the grid in the California woods – but has he gone wild or gone mad?
'Women of Will' argues that to know Shakespeare, you must know his womenTina Packer delves into the psychological and social roles Shakespeare's female characters play and their impact on others.
'Orhan's Inheritance' cleverly intertwines first love, ancient betrayal, secrets, and war crimesA debut novel links Turkish and Armenian families as it balances mistakes made with redemption earned.
'I Refuse' takes readers into the somber, subtle world of Per PettersonTwo men – best friends as children – meet again as adults to find the world, and their own circumstances, oddly changed.
'The Honest Truth' features a boy, a dog, and some very difficult decisionsA young boy who loves to climb mountains faces adult-sized challenges in this debut novel.
'H is for Hawk' celebrates the healing power of the wildIn the throes of grief, a naturalist finds release in a wild companion and an ancient art.
'The Architect's Apprentice' evokes folk tales, artistry, and the Ottoman EmpireElif Shafak's 10th novel offers an adventure story complete with battles, kings, sea voyages, prisons, disguises, artists, a curse, betrayal, and a Romany king.
'Hissing Cousins' profiles the battling Roosevelts, Eleanor and AliceEleanor and Alice Roosevelt may have been first cousins but they were also polar opposites.
'Kill Chain' holds up the drone and looks at it from every angleAndrew Cockburn considers the booming industry of drone warfare – assault waged with the push of a button.
'Green on Blue' tells a powerful, tragic story of war in Afghanistan, as seen by a young AfghanIn a singular novel of war, a young Afghan soldier sounds off on his life as a moving target – and the love which guides him forward.
'The Last Unicorn' follows a quest for one of the planet's rarest, most endangered species.William deBuys tracks the saola, an elusive beauty found only on the border of Vietnam and Laos.
'Boswell's Enlightenment' posits the bold and bawdy James Boswell as an avatar of his eraThis highly entertaining book argues that James Boswell – acclaimed biographer of and friend to Samuel Johnson – spent his life on an intellectual quest with goals akin to those of the Enlightenment.
"If You Find This Letter" tells of the woman who writes love letters to strangersTo ease her own sadness, Hannah Brencher began sending kind words to people she had never met.
"Hell and Good Company" skillfully profiles the colorful characters engaged in the Spanish Civil WarA new history celebrates little-known heroes of the struggle alongside icons like Picasso, Dos Passos, and Hemingway.
"Crow Fair": Thomas McGuane's new short story collection examines the dark side of the human comedyThe antic storytelling of a modest master finds mischievous fun in the romance and family life of the American West.
