The Latest

SCIENCE FICTION

MYSTERIES & THRILLERS

NONFICTION

Popular Fiction

Ken Follett’s monumental saga of the First World War

Ken Follett’s monumental saga of the First World War

No one is still alive with any adult memory of World War I, which ended a century ago. So when we think of the events that have shaped the world we live in today it's likely World War II looms large. But its antecedent three decades earlier may have had greater long-term...

read more

Explore My “BEST OF the category” selections

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

When people ask me that question, I never know what to say. In a lifetime of reading, I’ve read many thousands of books. And I’ve reviewed well over 2,000 of them on this site. Picking just one as a “favorite,” or even a handful of them, makes no sense to me.

The problem is, I read for many different reasons. Perhaps you do, too. And I read many different sorts of books. Mysteries and thrillers. Popular fiction, especially historical fiction. Science fiction.

And nonfiction, history in particular. You’ll find hundreds of reviews in every one of those categories on this site.

Look to the right for a rotating random selection culled from throughout this site.

Happy reading!

 

Cover image of "Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant," a memoir of living under deep cover for the CIA.

Under deep cover in the CIA during the Cold War

From 1964 to 1982, former Marine fighter pilot Frank McCloy served under deep cover in the CIA in Madrid, Delhi, Tokyo, and Caracas. But he was far from alone. His wife, Lillian, and three young children shared the experience with him of culture shock, life-threatening illness, and danger from...
The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell leaves Kurt Wallender behind on a trip to Beijing

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes Before Stieg Larsson and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, there was Henning Mankell, the long-reigning Swedish king of crime fiction with his internationally popular series of detective novels featuring the world-weary policeman, Kurt Wallander. With The Man From...
Cover image of "The Dean of Shandong," a book about the Chinese political system

An insider’s view of the Chinese political system

Ask just about any American at random to describe the Chinese political system, and the answer is likely to be "Communism." It's a convenient label that results from Mao Zedong's 1949 revolution and seven decades of reporting by and about the Chinese Communist Party. Not to mention decades of...
Cover image of "Conspirata," a novel of politics in Ancient Rome

A brilliant novel of politics in Ancient Rome

Conspirata tells the tale of the immortal Roman orator, politician, and lawyer Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 - 43 BCE) at the key inflection point of his long career. During the fateful year 63 BCE, he served as Roman consul (a sort of co-president). In the following years tragic consequences...
Cover image of "Listen, Liberal," a book in which a liberal icon finds fault with liberal politics today

A liberal icon finds fault with liberal politics

Blame for the widening gap between rich and poor and America is typically laid at the feet of the Republican Party, chiefly through the actions of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Without question, these two men, and their right-wing collaborators in Congress, bear a lot of...
Cover image of "All the Way Gone," a book in need of a proofreader

Proofreader, please!

Here is a potentially terrific novel, a police procedural with consummately clever plotting and believable characters, where the reading experience was spoiled for me by the most trivial of writer's errors: the failure to employ a proofreader! Estimated reading time: 2 minutes Admittedly, the...
Cover image of "Smoke and Ashes," a new history of opium

A new history of opium as addictive as the drug

Part history, part memoir, part travelogue, Smoke and Ashes is the latest work by acclaimed Indian author Amitav Ghosh. Grounded in the extensive research he conducted in writing his extraordinary Ibis Trilogy, this new history of opium traces the story of the drug from its earliest known use six...
The Tuscan Child is a story of World War II Italy.

A touching tale of love and betrayal in World War II Italy

World War II Italy comes into high relief in Rhys Bowen's poignant tale of a downed British pilot and the daughter who returns to Tuscany a generation later to understand why her father's life changed so dramatically following his time there. Estimated reading time: 3 minutes The Tuscan Child...
Fatal System Error by Joseph Menn

Joseph Menn: criminals are stealing trillions of dollars through the Internet

If you're already worried about computer crime and identity theft, you'll be wracked with fear if you read this troubling new account of the subject by a Los Angeles Times reporter specializing in Internet security. Joseph Menn's "Fatal System Error" is aptly subtitled "The Hunt for the New Crime...
Cover image of "The Doomsday Machine" by Daniel Ellsberg, a book that contains shocking revelations

The Doomsday Machine: Daniel Ellsberg’s dramatic second act

In the closing scene of the classic 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Major T. J. "King" Kong straddles a nuclear bomb as it soars down onto the Soviet Union while the World War II hit song We'll Meet Again blares in the background. Major Kong is the...

My Most Popular Reviews

Weekly Reviews Delivered to You!

Mal Warwick - Book Reviews

Weekly book reviews to match your taste!

Love mysteries and thrillers? Historical fiction fan? Prefer to read nonfiction? Or, like me, you just love reading? Take your pick of my three weekly newsletters. Just click the Yes! button, and you’re on your way.

Here you can take your pick of the three newsletters I publish each week. They’re all free of ads, and I never share subscribers’ email addresses with anyone. Just make your newsletter selections below.

Feel free to subscribe to any or all of these newsletters. Remember, they’re ad-free, and I won’t share your contact information with anyone.

Enjoy reading!

Mal Warwick

The latest mystery
& thriller book
reviews every Tuesday.

…includes my latest mystery and thriller book reviews, with links to other content in the genre.

The latest nonfiction book reviews every Wednesday.

…includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

My latest
book reviews,
every Thursday.

…includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

...includes summaries and links to all of the week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Mystery & Thriller Book
Reviews Every Week

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Nonfiction Book
Reviews Every Week

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Tuesday's Newsletter

Tuesday's Newsletter

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Wednesday's Newsletter

Wednesday's Newsletter

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Weekly Newsletter

Thursday's Newsletter

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!