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A brilliant novel of love, hope, and the Rwanda genocide

A brilliant novel of love, hope, and the Rwanda genocide

Today, Rwanda is one of the brightest lights in Africa. The economy is booming. Corruption is rare. Government delivers services. The streets of Kigali, the capital, are clean. It's even easy to open a business. Thirty years ago the country was in chaos, as this award-winning...

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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 "Asia's Cauldron," a book about US-China competition.

US-China competition through the lens of geopolitics

Despite the “pivot” to Asia trumpeted by the Obama Administration, despite the constant refrain by observers of world affairs that the 21st century is shaping up to be dominated by US-China competition, the American news media as well as the public continue to direct their attention primarily to...
In "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs," Steve Brusatte explains that dinosaurs live today.

Dinosaurs live today: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

Yes, dinosaurs live today. You'll learn a lot in this lively personal account by a passionate paleontologist. Quick: how many different species of dinosaurs can you name? T. rex, of course. Brontosaurus. Triceratops, maybe. Velociraptor, of Jurassic Park fame. Possibly also Pterodactyl...
Cover image of "Paper," a history of paper

More than you ever wanted to know about the history of paper

Often history can be usefully viewed through the lens of a single product. For example, Harvard professor Sven Beckert's powerful book, Empire of Cotton: A Global History, illuminates the early centuries in the history of capitalism by tracing the growth of the textile industry from its origins in...
Cover image of "The Difference Engine,"

Two sci-fi authors’ alternate computer history

When authors fall in love with their own writing, watch out. Far too often, the books they single out as their favorites are among those least liked by readers. And this seems to be the case, at least for coauthor William Gibson, with The Difference Engine, the alternate computer history he...
Cover image of "Crooked Seeds,"

In post-apartheid South Africa, a criminal investigation reawakens disturbing memories

How is it that an otherwise supremely talented author would choose to write a book about a character nobody could ever love? I understand cranky people. And the chronically pessimistic. I have my moments, probably more than my share. But Deidre van Deventer, the protagonist of Karen Jennings'...
China

Chinese history made fun and easy in a compelling novel

The roots of the Chinese Communist Revolution lie in the 19th century. The Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, the Boxer Rebellion—these three blood-soaked events set the stage for the dissolution of the Chinese Empire in 1912. The chaos of one century led to a new sequence of chaotic episodes in...
Cover image of "The Good Spy," a book about Miss Universe and the CIA in the Middle East

The PLO, Miss Universe, and the CIA—and it’s all true

Chances are slim that you've ever heard of Robert Ames. I hadn't. Bob Ames was a CIA officer for two decades in the 1960s and 70s. He was one of eight CIA employees to die in the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut in 1983. Ames had risen to senior positions in the agency but never became its...
Wicked Prey is a story about Lucas Davenport's BCA.

The clever detectives of Lucas Davenport’s BCA meet three challenges

In most television cop shows, the clever detectives on the squad grapple with one baffling case. They solve it, of course. Then, in the next episode, they move on to another one. It's neat, clean, and easy to follow. By contrast, the printed page offers space to paint a more realistic picture. In...
Camino Winds is about a hurricane and a corporate scam.

A hurricane, a murder, and a nursing home scam

John Grisham is widely regarded as a master of suspense. His facility with plots that steadily build anticipation toward a shattering and often surprising climax is legendary. But in his latest, he departs from the pattern. Camino Winds is a curious example of a novel that's really two books in...
Before "Gone Girl," Gillian Flynn wrote "Sharp Objects," the cover of which is shown here

Before Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn wrote this disturbing novel

Gillian Flynn gained fame (and undoubtedly fortune as well) with the advent in 2012 of her third novel, Gone Girl, and the 2014 film adaptation starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. The book was a #1 New York Times bestseller for many months. Within its first year of publication, there were...

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.

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Enjoy reading!

Mal Warwick

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

My latest
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…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.

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