Well-informed and well-rendered snapshots of the ancient world.
The legends that shaped the mindset of ancient Rome.
“Legends differ from myths,” independent historian Matyszak explains, “in that they focus on human beings in a historical setting…generally accepted as being real.” Which is not to say that abandoned infants Romulus and Remus were actually suckled by a she-wolf before they grew up to found Rome; the author notes that luparia, or “she-wolves’ den,” was the name for a Roman brothel in the time of Livy, the historian who floated the prostitute wet-nurse theory. This scurrilous-details-and-all anecdote is typical of Matyszak’s lively approach in his enjoyable retellings of the stories Romans took as their ancient history. They span nearly 1,000 years, from Aeneas fleeing the fall of Troy and settling in Italy, through the rape and suicide of an honorable Roman matron, which ended the monarchy and launched the Roman Republic, to the squabbles between plebeians and patricians that led to grudgingly shared political power, a status quo that endured until civil wars ended the republic. In these and many other instances, the author is careful to note varying accounts—indeed, somewhat too careful, as in the confusing multiple versions of, for example, the background and motives of the Vestal Virgin who betrayed Rome to the Sabines. Matyszak’s formidable knowledge of ancient Roman sources is put to better use when he explains the initially enigmatic bribe of “what was on their left arms” that the Sabine warriors promised the vestal: “In a world without banking…most men carried their wealth around with them in the form of gold bracelets”—on the left arm so they didn’t hinder the right arm’s ability to wield a sword. Aside from their sheer entertainment value, Matyszak reminds readers, these legends are important because they shaped Rome’s self-image: The stories told Romans “they were brave, chaste, and honourable, respectful to their gods and beloved by them.”
Well-informed and well-rendered snapshots of the ancient world.Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9780500028315
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.
A coffee-table book celebrates Michelle Obama’s sense of fashion.
Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, Obama’s chatty latest book begins with some school portraits from the author’s childhood in Chicago and fond memories of back-to-school shopping at Sears, then jumps into the intricacies of clothing oneself as the spouse of a presidential candidate and as the first lady. “People looked forward to the outfits, and once I got their attention, they listened to what I had to say. This is the soft power of fashion,” she says. Obama is grateful and frank about all the help she got along the way, and the volume includes a long section written by her primary wardrobe stylist, Koop—28 years old when she first took the job—and shorter sections by makeup artists and several hair stylists, who worked with wigs and hair extensions as Obama transitioned back to her natural hair, and grew out her bangs, at the end of her husband’s second term. Many of the designers of the author’s gowns, notably Jason Wu, who designed several of her more striking outfits, also contribute appreciative memories. Besides candid and more formal photographs, the volume features many sketches of her gowns by their designers, closeups on details of those gowns, and magazine covers from Better Homes & Gardens to Vogue. The author writes that as a Black woman, “I was under a particularly white-hot glare, constantly appraised for whether my outfits were ‘acceptable’ and ‘appropriate,’ the color of my skin somehow inviting even more judgment than the color of my dresses.” Overall, though, this is generally a canny, upbeat volume, with little in the way of surprising revelations.
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593800706
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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