All Book Reviews
'Gateway to Freedom' offers new insight into the workings of the Underground RailroadA historian looks more closely at the network that liberated thousands.
'Khirbet Khizeh' is a haunting fictional take on the Arab-Israeli warAn Israeli novelist offers an unsettling look at the paradoxes of a conflict.
'Leaving Before the Rains Come' is Africa native Alexandra Fuller's captivating third memoirIn her third memoir, Fuller unspools the story of her surprisingly rocky life since childhood.
'The Dogs Are Eating Them Now' offers a harsh but illuminating verdict on the war in AfghanistanCanadian journalist Graeme Smith struggles to make sense of all that he saw during a decade of war and nation-building in Afghanistan.
'The Internet Is Not the Answer' challenges 'the centers of digital power' that are changing our worldJournalist and onetime Internet entrepreneur Andrew Keen wants us to more carefully consider the question: 'What society are we building here?'
'Honeydew' showcases Edith Pearlman's originality and versatilityPearlman's stories often emphasize isolation – but offer at least the hope of more.
'Huck Finn's America' takes a fresh look at a masterworkWhat does Mark Twain’s cherished — and contentious — work of fiction teach us about about the nation it still fascinates?
'I Think You’re Totally Wrong' pits a former student against his one-time writing professorIs it more important to write or to live? Caleb Powell and David Shields discuss but fail to fascinate.
'Born in the GDR' offers a more nuanced portrait of life in the former East GermanyHester Vaizey profiles eight residents of the former German Democratic Republic, revealing that many former GDR citizens have complicated feelings for their erstwhile country.
‘Almost Nearly Perfect People’ reveals that – surprise! – Nordic nations aren’t quite nirvanalA British Journalist goes myth-hunting throughout Scandinavia
'In the Wolf's Mouth' is a beatifully written tragicomedy set in North Africa and Sicily during World War IIThe third novel of acclaimed novelist Adam Foulds follows the fortunes of characters who meet in a small Sicilian town.
'Top 10 Clues You're Clueless' echoes Nancy Drew, 'The Breakfast Club,' and Meg CabotSix teens are confined in a room. One of them stole $10,000. But who? The clock is ticking....
My New Year's resolution: read more John UpdikeHow about you? Is there an author you'd like to read, from start to finish, in 2015?
'Splitting an Order' offers poetry that outshines dark daysWisdom, compassion, and dignity continue to mark the poems of Ted Kooser.
'Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life' is a biography that includes a large element of the absurdFitzgerald was a late bloomer who turned her stoic middle-class background into the engine of unforgettable fiction.
'The Name of the Blade' is a tough, sassy mélange of Japanese folklore and modern teen BritainMio Yamato inherits her grandfather’s samurai sword – along with a mandate to battle evil.
'Blessed Assurance' succeeds as a soaring new biography of playwright Horton FooteHorton Foote's life and work were so closely intertwined, this biography demonstrates, that it's hard to know where Horton Foote, the man, ends and where Horton Foote, the writer, begins.
'Fourth of July Creek' is a gritty, disturbing, evocative, and extraordinary debut novelHenderson Smith’s tale of suffering and the hope of rescue in the northern West is on this critic’s short list of the year’s best fiction.
'When Books Went to War' tells how paperback books helped to win World War IIRecreational reading boosted morale and celebrated free thought for America’s World War II troops.
'The Greatest Knight' is the true story of a medieval knight, told with rich detailDrawing on a 13th-century manuscript, Thomas Asbridge has fashioned a rare and fascinating biography.
