Her story is well known. The reign of Elizabeth I (1533-1603) marked the emergence of England onto the world stage. During the forty-five years of her reign, Elizabeth’s fleet defeated the world’s most powerful navy (albeit by lucky chance) and kept the predatory powers of the Continent at bay through adroit diplomacy and innovative spycraft. […]
Continue Reading...Evolutionary biologists tend to agree with Charles Darwin that new species can emerge only gradually over many generations. But in recent decades some have advanced a contrarian view termed punctuated equilibrium, or what I prefer to call fast-tracked evolution. They contend that evolution manifests itself in spurts, making it possible for new species to develop […]
Continue Reading...Alternate histories explore the what-ifs of the past. What if the Nazis had defeated Britain before Pearl Harbor triggered the US entry into World War II? What if the British had captured and imprisoned George Washington? Or, as in the case of Curtis Sittenfeld’s intriguing alternate political history, what if Hillary Rodham had never married […]
Continue Reading...Most accounts of the British-American alliance in World War II dwell on the closeness between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. But a more fine-toothed inspection of history reveals that others played equally significant roles in making the relationship work. And historian Lynne Olsen has dug into contemporaneous accounts, dredging up eye-opening facts about three prominent […]
Continue Reading...Lady Di has painted herself into a corner. Oh, not that Lady Di. This one is Diana Taverner, the newly anointed Director General of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. (Well, she and everyone else refers to the job as First Chair. But we all know what’s going on.) And—acting purely out of patriotic motives, mind you—she […]
Continue Reading...If you imagine Martian death-rays or eight-foot-tall bipedal lizards, think again. These alien invaders are called grubs, and for good reason. They travel in enormous packs. They’re “minuscule, maggot-like creatures” capable of aggregating in huge numbers and assuming any desired shape. And they consume just about everything in their path. Including trees and humans—trunks, clothing, […]
Continue Reading...For at least 200,000 years, homo sapiens enjoyed the bounty of the Earth, rendering only minimal damage to the planet. That began to change with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century. Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, explains. “The pressures we exert on the planet have become […]
Continue Reading...So, what can you tell about mystery and thriller series from their series starters—the first books published in the sequence? Sometimes a whole lot. And sometimes not much at all, as it turns out. Mystery and thriller fans love book series. By following the exploits of a leading character or a team of investigators, we […]
Continue Reading...A squadron of three US destroyers sails on a “freedom of navigation” mission in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Nearby a smaller vessel is gushing smoke, and Captain Sara Hunt, the squadron’s commodore, orders her warships to veer off course to investigate. They find a small craft packed with electronic surveillance equipment, […]
Continue Reading...Once again, I find myself marveling that I detested a book so many literary critics called a masterpiece. The Power and the Glory is a novel published in 1940 by the celebrated English author Graham Greene. I’ve read and reviewed two of his other novels, one of which (The Quiet American) is clearly a masterpiece, […]
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