NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2013
"Superb history combined with superficial punditry."
May (History/Univ. of Delaware;
The Informant: The FBI, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Murder of Viola Liuzzo, 2011, etc.) explores the agitation for, and the passage and continuing significance of, the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2013
"Arana ably captures the brash brilliance of this revered and vilified leader."
Inspired biography of the great Latin American revolutionary, with great depth given to his fulsome ideas.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2013
"By analyzing the "Letter" as both literature and moral imperative, Rieder adds to his subject's considerable legacy."
A tight, academic focus on the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" offers a fresh perspective on Dr. King's message.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2013
"Illuminating in key spots, but a slog for nonacademics."
How did 19th-century American novelists deal with liberty, equality, slavery and the changing role of religion in American life? That's the question Gura (American Literature and Culture/Univ. of North Carolina;
American Transcendentalism: A History, 2007, etc.) sets out to answer in this comprehensive survey.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2013
"A great read for Boleyn fans and fanatics alike, though not for readers seeking a general biography of the queen."
NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2013
"A timely call to attention to a global health problem, but with no real solutions in sight."
The story of "where attitudes about chronic illness came from, and where they stand today."
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 9, 2013
"A well-reported, smoothly written book for anyone who wants to understand contemporary American military might and the widespread hatred for the U.S. that has been the result."
Pulitzer Prize–winning
New York Times national security correspondent Mazzetti demonstrates in horrifying, persuasive detail how the new-style warfare approved by both George W. Bush and Barack Obama has led to controversial assassinations by the U.S. government and blowback yielding new terrorists determined to harm American citizens.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 4, 2013
"The author does a solid job analyzing the birth and development of Dracula and illustrating the character traits Stoker cherry-picked from his wide circle of friends."
Steinmeyer (
The Last Greatest Magician in the World, 2011, etc.) reveals the variety of influences on Stoker's most (some would say only) memorable work of fiction.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 3, 2013
"An angry but fascinating account of negligence, incompetence and injustice justified (as it still is) in the name of national security."
Turning up a surprising amount of hitherto hidden material and talkative survivors, Brown (History/Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County;
A Biography of No Place: From Ethnic Borderland to Soviet Heartland, 2005) writes a vivid, often hair-raising history of the great plutonium factories and the privileged cities built around them.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 3, 2013
"A clear explanation of a complicated, and severely flawed, idea."
NONFICTION
Released: April 2, 2013
"Not as groundbreaking as the author imagines, but a solid retelling of an always-interesting tale of the first great urban-planning achievement."
A mildly revisionist history that gives principal credit for the modernization of Paris to the monarch rather than the prefect.
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: April 2, 2013
"A poignant account of personal bravery, love, and loss and a chronicle of the tragedy of our times."
With the assistance of Robbins, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Abdi chronicles the ravages of the ongoing civil war in Somalia and her efforts to establish a safe haven amid the destruction.
Read full book review >
