Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




On Politicians


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Cover art for MY LIFE IN POLITICS
NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 13, 2012
by Jacques Chirac, translated by Catherine Spencer

"Citizenship, leadership and service combine in this memoir of a full political life."
Candid memoir from France's former two-term president. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE OATH
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 18, 2012

"Shrewd and elucidating."
A skillful probing of the often-discordant relationship between the president and the Supreme Court. Read full book review >
Cover art for SEWARD
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 11, 2012

"A thorough, refreshing biography by an independent-minded historian."
A sympathetic, evenhanded reappraisal of President Lincoln's secretary of state as a statesman who practiced effective preventive strategies. Read full book review >
Cover art for VOLCKER
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 4, 2012

"Although not the first biography of Volcker, Silber's book is the most up-to-date and blessedly free of jargon."
From a fellow economist, an admiring biography of Paul A. Volcker. Read full book review >
Cover art for INTERVENTIONS
NONFICTION
Released: Sept. 4, 2012

"An insider's personal account based on lessons drawn from long experience. Aspects of this book complement Jacques Chirac's autobiography, My Life in Politics (2012)."
With the assistance of Oxford Analytica CEO Mousavizadeh (editor: The Black Book of Bosnia: The Consequences of Appeasement, 1996), former United Nations Secretary-General Annan discusses the major benchmarks of his life and career. Read full book review >
Cover art for BAILOUT
NONFICTION
Released: July 24, 2012

"A courageous, insightful book that offers no cause for optimism."
A former watchdog in the federal government attacks the officials who perpetuated the financial meltdown by kowtowing to behemoth banks and Wall Street firms while abandoning the public interest. Read full book review >
Cover art for BARACK OBAMA
NONFICTION
Released: June 19, 2012

"Maraniss stresses that Obama's Muslim ancestors encompass only one facet to his complex, fascinating makeup. Another in the author's line of authoritative biographies."
An exhaustive, respectful study of the president's "shattered genealogy," from Kansas to Kenya, Hawaii to Indonesia. Read full book review >
Cover art for IT WORKED FOR ME
NONFICTION
Released: May 22, 2012

"An inspiring and useful memoir from a significant figure in 21st-century American politics."
With the collaboration of Koltz (co-author: Leading the Charge: Leadership Lessons from the Battlefield to the Boardroom, 2009, etc.), Powell picks up the thread of his life story. Read full book review >
Cover art for LIFE AMONG THE CANNIBALS
NONFICTION
Released: April 1, 2012

"A highly readable battle cry from the moderate center--and timely, given the tenor of politics today."
Senator Specter, swept out of office in 2010, takes a hard look at what happened--and at the collapse, as he sees it, of civil politics. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE OBAMAS
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 10, 2012

"If only the "wrath of Michelle," as it's known, is the worst thing the staffers have to face. It's not, though, and Kantor's fly-on-the-wall view makes illuminating reading for an election year."
A gossipy but mostly meaty look inside the Obama White House, a place less unified than one might expect--or hope. Read full book review >