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LATEST ISSUE OF
Kirkus Reviews
Best-seller Jeannette Walls talks about mining her own history for her new novel, The Silver Star.
Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS



Best Nonfiction of 2012: History

Cover art for PRIVATE EMPIRE
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Star PRIVATE EMPIRE: EXXONMOBIL AND AMERICAN POWER
by Steve Coll
"Leaks, reserves, PACs, hydrofracking, bloated corporate profits and more: all pertinent concerns nicely handled by Coll in this engaging, hard-hitting work."
A thorough, sobering study of the pernicious consolidation of Big Oil. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN
NONFICTION
Released: Dec. 4, 2012
Kirkus Star THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN: LEONARD COHEN, JEFF BUCKLEY, AND THE UNLIKELY ASCENT OF "HALLELUJAH"
by Alan Light
"A masterful work of critical journalism."
Charting the remarkable journey of a modern musical classic, from obscurity to ubiquity. Read full book review >
Cover art for SEASON OF THE WITCH
NONFICTION
Released: May 8, 2012
Kirkus Star SEASON OF THE WITCH: ENCHANTMENT, TERROR AND DELIVERANCE IN THE CITY OF LOVE
by David Talbot
"Though he's a little too enamored with "angel-headed hipsters" and "fairy dust," Talbot takes the reader much deeper than cliché, exploring a San Francisco that tourists never discover."
An ambitious, labor-of-love illumination of a city's soul, celebrating the uniqueness of San Francisco without minimizing the price paid for the city's free-spiritedness. Read full book review >
Cover art for ON THE EVE
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Star ON THE EVE: THE JEWS OF EUROPE BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR
by Bernard Wasserstein
"A wide-ranging, marvelously complete overview of a diverse, teeming civilization poised for ruin."
A bright, hard glimpse at the final thriving days of European Jewry and the first edges of its unraveling. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE PRESIDENTS CLUB
NONFICTION
Released: May 8, 2012
Kirkus Star THE PRESIDENTS CLUB: INSIDE THE WORLD'S MOST EXCLUSIVE FRATERNITY
by Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy
"In a well-researched, disinterested analysis, the authors show that collisions of ego, personality and politics can often result in creation, not destruction."
Two Time magazine editors chart the zigzag arc of relationships among the men who have occupied the White House since the mid-20th century. Read full book review >
Cover art for DARKEST AMERICA
NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 27, 2012
Kirkus Star DARKEST AMERICA: BLACK MINSTRELSY FROM SLAVERY TO HIP-HOP
by Yuval Taylor, Jake Austen
"An innovative, marvelous book about comedy, stereotypes and the struggle to steer through the sometimes-fierce internal debates over African-American identity in a society still struggling with its racial past."
A provocative, compelling exploration of one of the most controversial elements of the black entertainment world. Read full book review >