Before the advent of spy satellites and the Internet, espionage was a game played out largely by people with only the most minimal intervention of machines. Not entirely so, of course. Nazi Germany had its Enigma machines, and Bletchley Park its analog and primitive digital computers to decipher...
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You think you know what you’re in for after the first 29 words in the book. First, the author writes, “I made all this up. Historians and physicists—please do not spit on me in the street.” Then she quotes Arnold Toynbee, who was not the first to express the sentiment (and...
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This book is a work of fiction inspired by real events and real people.” So writes James McBride in an author’s note that precedes the text. He continues: “It draws upon the individual and collective experiences of black soldiers who served in the Serchio Valley and Apuane Alps...
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My father’s parents emigrated to the United States in 1901 with the three oldest of their eight children. I was led to believe they were survivors of a pogrom in the Russian Empire, but they wouldn’t talk about the experience—or anything at all about their lives in the Old Country. At...
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On August 25, 1939, MGM’s make-or-break production of The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Theater in Los Angeles. The picture represented the pinnacle of all that Louis B. Mayer aspired to project for the company. It was a wholesome film, a picture for the whole family, a...
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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.