Estimated reading time: 5 minutes He was the most famous man in the world, and more places are named after him than anyone else. To many of the giants of his time—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Jefferson, Simon Bolivar, Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau—he was a colossus whose genius...
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Joseph Kanon’s historical spy novels reek of authenticity. Set in the years immediately following World War II, they conjure up the fear and desperation that hung over Europe in the early days of the Cold War. Then, it seemed as though open war might well...
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A review of The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). The action takes place in Bangkok sometime in the 23rd century. The oceans have risen by twenty feet, and only a seawall protects the city. Genetic engineering has run amok around the globe, leaving only the Thai Kingdom to resist the “calorie companies” that are the only source of food for most of the world.
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Most Americans today are likely to have a difficult time imagining how well Congress worked in the 1950s. Of course, it was far from perfect. On the nation’s dominant domestic issue, the legacy of slavery, segregationist Southern Democrats holding positions of power in both houses stymied...
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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Resistance to Hitler was notoriously weak. After all, he had ended unemployment and restored Germany’s stature in the world. His regime kept spirits afloat with adroit public pageantry and incessant propaganda. And official terror reigned, imprisoning those...
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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.