A review of Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, by Blaine Harden. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). Chronicles the life of Shin Dong-hyuk, only of only three people ever known to have escaped from a North Korean labor camp and made it to the West. A harrowing account of one of the world’s most widespread and most egregious human rights violations.
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In 1860, when civil war erupted, the federal government was a mere shadow of what it has become today. The federal budget was about $63 million, only about $2.5 billion in 2025 dollars. That compares to the $6.6 trillion, or $6,600 billion, the government spent in the the past year. And only about...
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Alan Furst writes deeply engrossing novels of suspense about espionage in Europe in the years leading up to and during World War II. Mission to Paris, the 12th of these books, is good enough to satisfy the most exacting fans of Eric Ambler and Graham Greene. It’s difficult to accept the...
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Most of Carl Hiaasen’s 16 previous adult novels have centered on the destruction of Florida’s natural beauty. He has skewered corrupt developers, crooked politicians, and rapacious billionaires as well as assorted low-life scumbags and con men. The man’s body of work opens a...
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Some readers compare Mick Herron to John le Carré. But the similarity is puzzling. The 14 books to date in the Slough House series satirize British intelligence rather than celebrate or lament its excesses, as the work of Le Carré has done so ably. Diana Taverner, who is First Desk in...
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Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.
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.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
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.