Books | Book Reviews
Mark Twain’s legacy is not his tall tales. It’s his larger-than-life persona.Mark Twain gave us inimitable characters such as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. He was no less creative in styling himself as America’s first celebrity.
How Eadweard Muybridge solved a riddle of movement with his cameras“Muybridge,” a thoughtful graphic biography of the 19th-century inventor, delves into his life and his experiments with sequential photography.
Three novels strike at the heart of devastating legaciesA trio of novels translated from Indonesian, Arabic, and French exposes the harmful effects of prejudice and corruption.
America’s 13 Colonies didn’t fight the Revolution by themselvesIn “Shots Heard Round the World,” John Ferling argues that substantial – and secret – aid from France helped the colonists triumph over Britain.
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Skulduggery among the heirloom tomatoes in ‘The Fact Checker’A madcap mystery novel riffs on two New York institutions: the fact-checking department of a New Yorker-like magazine and the city’s farmers markets.
Spring’s great reads have sprung! Here are April’s 10 best.April’s 10 best books range from short stories set in LA to a climate-change novel to a reappraisal of the American Revolution and its effects on other countries.
Whodunits with history: Those were the slays!Our roundup of mysteries includes Jay Gatsby’s (invented) sister and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as detectives. Retirees and conspiracies abound.
The quiet voice of Emily Brontë was anything but tame“Fifteen Wild Decembers” by novelist Karen Powell shows the depth of creativity shared among the talented Brontë siblings, as narrated by Emily.
A fuller portrait of artist-provocateur Yoko OnoDavid Sheff reappraises Yoko Ono’s role, as an artist in her own right and as a support to John Lennon, with whom she collaborated on “Imagine.”
The 10 best books of March come in like a lionMarch’s 10 best books deliver drama, danger, and determination, from a novel set on a subantarctic island to a biography that reappraises Yoko Ono.
One night to resolve all matters of the heartBen Okri emphasizes abstract ideas over nuanced characters in the farce “Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted.”
Actor Merle Oberon hid her South Asian heritage to keep working in HollywoodBritish actor Merle Oberon’s greatest role might have been played off-camera. She kept her biracial heritage a secret so that her career could soar.
The unfulfilled promises of emancipation and ReconstructionTwo books about the American Civil War’s aftermath focus on the experiences of formerly enslaved people.
Earth’s green evolution gave rise to everything from dinosaurs to dandelionsPaleontologist Riley Black traces the cooperation among plants, animals, and ecosystems in “When the Earth Was Green.”
Monitor's Best: Top 5
10 years ago, SCOTUS said same-sex couples could marry. Why do they worry today?
Nobody’s muse: Revisiting the art of Leonora Carrington
Called to lead Europe, Germany weighs its national guilt. Is it time to move on?
Difference MakerThis restaurateur never made it past fifth grade. Now she runs a roadside library.
As Israel blocks aid, Gaza’s mothers watch their children starve
