Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Current Affairs Book Reviews Available Now (page 3)


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Cover art for ACT OF CONGRESS
NONFICTION
Released: May 7, 2013

"Remember that old saw about making sausages and making laws--that you don't want to know too much about either one? Kaiser disproves it with this lucid if sometimes numbing book."
A painstaking, richly detailed look at how the suite of financial reforms that followed the bank near-collapse of 2008 came to be--and nearly didn't come to be, even as they were defanged. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE END IS NEAR AND IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME
NONFICTION
Released: May 7, 2013

"It's a pleasure to find so even and logical a voice in these pages, which deserve broad airing."
At last, a conservative treatise that isn't too bilious to taste--and that is often entertaining even as it is provocative. Read full book review >
Cover art for DEBTORS' PRISON
NONFICTION
Released: May 2, 2013

American Prospect co-founder and -editor Kuttner (A Presidency In Peril: The Inside Story of Obama's Promise, Wall Street's Power and the Struggle to Control Our Economic Future, 2010, etc.) critiques the Obama administration's embrace of debt-driven austerity policies and calls for the resumption of postponed financial reforms. Read full book review >
Cover art for END OF THE GOOD LIFE
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2013

"A forcefully written treatment of the plight in which an increasing number of people find themselves."
What will the future hold when the best-educated generation ever can't find the employment for which it is qualified? Brussels-based Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporter Froymovich debuts with an impressive presentation of the challenges raised by this question. Read full book review >
Cover art for WHAT THEN MUST WE DO?
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2013

"Alperovitz's conversational style avoids academic jargon while making complex issues easy (some might say too easy) to digest, but he's not likely to convince those of the conservative persuasion that a more hopeful future involves more collective action and government consolidation."
Any cure for America's economic plight lies deeper than politics as usual, argues an author who believes that a fundamental, radical, systemic transformation offers the possibility of an economic corrective. Read full book review >
Cover art for HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2013

"A credible book to inspire even the most cynical among us."
The latest title in the publisher's School of Life series aims to be a guide to social and cultural change. Read full book review >
Cover art for BIG, HOT, CHEAP, AND RIGHT
NONFICTION
Released: April 23, 2013

"Due to the fact that Texas is thriving while much of America struggles, it might be wise to consider what Texas is doing right."
"I wanted to write a book that would help people come to terms with the existence of Texas," writes Texas Monthly senior editor Grieder of her debut. Read full book review >
Cover art for BEYOND WAR
NONFICTION
Released: April 22, 2013

"A clarion call for change and more--not less--engagement with Islam."
A stirring account of where American Middle East policy has gone wrong. Read full book review >
Cover art for CARRIED IN OUR HEARTS
NONFICTION
Released: April 18, 2013

"Short, sweet, eye-opening thoughts on adoption and mixed-race parenthood."
True stories of creating loving families despite long odds. Read full book review >
Cover art for LIGHT WITHOUT FIRE
NONFICTION
Released: April 16, 2013

"A brief look at what may surely be a historic class in American educational history--a subject worthy of deeper exploration."
The inaugural class of the first Islamic college in America share their hopes and dreams with a visiting journalist. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE AGE OF THE IMAGE
NONFICTION
Released: April 16, 2013

"Apkon goes to great lengths to assay the obvious. Only in passing does he grant that the image does not exist in isolation, that word and image are inextricable. After all, he required this ancient technology--a book--to communicate his ideas."
Debut author Apkon, executive director of the Jacob Burns Film Center, makes a strong case for the moving image as today's primary form of communication. Yet, like many true believers, he pays short shrift to the cultural downside. Read full book review >
Cover art for MISTRIAL
NONFICTION
Released: April 11, 2013

"A no-holds-barred indictment of the system, filled with memorable anecdotes and accessibly written."
Two high-profile defense lawyers pull back the curtain on the U.S. criminal justice system and find much to criticize. Read full book review >