Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Essays & Anthologies Book Reviews Coming Soon


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Cover art for BUILDING GREAT SENTENCES
NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013

"Passionate and erudite, but with sharply focused appeal."
Veteran professor Landon (English/Univ. of Iowa; Understanding Thomas Berger, 2009, etc.) urges a return to the sentence theories and pedagogy of Francis Christensen, whose ideas about cumulative sentences held sway for about a decade 40 years ago. Read full book review >
Cover art for BEAUTIFULLY UNIQUE SPARKLEPONIES
NONFICTION
Released: June 25, 2013

"An intriguing assortment of work from an athlete with a lot on his mind."
NFL punter Kluwe riffs on everything from social justice to dinosaur obsessions in a lively collection of stories, essays, letters and poems. Read full book review >
Cover art for I WEAR THE BLACK HAT
NONFICTION
Released: July 9, 2013

"A fine return to form for Klosterman, blending Big Ideas with heavy metal, The Wire, Batman and much more."
Of John Rawls and Keith Richards: Klosterman (The Visible Man, 2011, etc.) returns with a pop-culture–laden meditation on the bad guys of the world and what they mean. Read full book review >
Cover art for SHUT UP, YOU'RE WELCOME
NONFICTION
Released: July 9, 2013

"Will leave readers laughing one moment, bemused the next."
A saucy, comical retrospective on growing up Korean in the United States. Read full book review >
Cover art for TO AMERICA WITH LOVE
NONFICTION
Released: July 9, 2013

"A stirring, funny, thought-provoking appreciation of the place, the idea, the experiment, the United States of America."
An ardent mash note to the vast, vital nation that confounds and beguiles its European cousins in equal measure. Read full book review >
Cover art for HANDLING THE TRUTH
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 6, 2013

"Generous, intelligent and genuinely insightful."
A self-described "memoir autodidact" and distinguished author's refreshingly idiosyncratic guide to the art of creative nonfiction. Read full book review >
Cover art for INSIDE THE ROOM
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 6, 2013
edited by Linda Venis

"An engaging and helpful how-to for hopeful TV writers or anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of this ephemeral art."
A practical guide to how TV is made, from bright idea to syndication. Read full book review >
Cover art for CUT TO THE CHASE
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 6, 2013
edited by Linda Venis

"A readable writer's how-to that goes down smoothly."
A well-organized soup-to-nuts manual for aspiring Nora Ephrons and Charlie Kaufmans, from the faculty of a notable screenwriting program. Read full book review >
Cover art for GEORGE ORWELL
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 12, 2013

"Illuminates Orwell's political convictions and gives fleeting but vivid glimpses of his personal qualities."
A representative selection, culled from the 20-volume Complete Works, which Davison co-edited, of correspondence by and to 20th-century England's fiercest literary opponent of totalitarianism. Read full book review >
Cover art for MY 1980S AND OTHER ESSAYS
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 13, 2013

"A challenging, rich, aesthetic autobiography and intellectual high-wire act that rarely falters."
Critical and personal essays from noted poet and cultural critic Koestenbaum (English/CUNY Graduate Center; The Anatomy of Harpo Marx, 2012, etc.). Read full book review >
Cover art for LET FREEDOM RING
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 13, 2013

"Fine photos, concise text, including excerpts from remarks of the day, and a solid view of the Kennedy administration dragged into the American future."
Fifty years later, a stirring evocation of the 1963 March on Washington. Read full book review >
Cover art for TALK ABOUT A DREAM
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 20, 2013

"A fascinating addition to the growing shelf of Springsteen studies, probably best read in doses."
A career-spanning collection of interviews with The Boss. Read full book review >