Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




2011 Best of Nonfiction: History (page 3)


Cover art for SMOKING TYPEWRITERS
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 16, 2011

"A welcome book on the '60s--a nostalgia trip for those who were there and a vivid work of history for anyone curious about the journalism that jolted a decade."
An unusually thoughtful account of the in-your-face underground press of the 1960s and its role in fomenting a decade of youth revolt. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE BRILLIANT DISASTER
NONFICTION
Released: April 5, 2011

"Graceful, dramatic writing makes this well-worn story new again."
A balanced, engrossing account of the U.S.-backed invasion of Fidel Castro's Cuba. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE GREATER JOURNEY
NONFICTION
Released: May 24, 2011

"A gorgeously rich, sparkling patchwork, eliciting stories from diaries and memoirs to create the human drama McCullough depicts so well."
An ambitious, wide-ranging study of how being in Paris helped spark generations of American genius. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE THOUSAND-YEAR FLOOD
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 2011

"An eye-opening account of a national disaster that has been all but forgotten, as well as a shameful spotlight on the short-sightedness of humans in the face of the awesome powers of nature."
The story of the worst flood in American history and how it overwhelmed the Ohio river valley and much of the lower Mississippi in January and February 1937. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE STORM OF WAR
NONFICTION
Released: May 17, 2011

"European history."
A comprehensive, insightful one-volume study of World War II that relentlessly pursues the question: Why didn't the Axis win? Read full book review >
Cover art for LOST IN SHANGRI-LA
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2011

"Polished, fast-paced and immensely readable--ready for the big screen."
Former Boston Globe reporter Zuckoff (Journalism/Boston Univ.; Robert Altman: The Oral Biography, 2009, etc.) delivers a remarkable survival story. Read full book review >