Americans have long believed it was homegrown efforts that succeeded in deciphering the World War II Japanese military and diplomatic codes — and that belief is significant, because otherwise the Battle of Midway and other pivotal events in the Pacific War might have gone differently. But...
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Misdirection is one of the tools employed by mystery writers since time . . . well, not quite immemorial, but for a long time. Alfred Hitchcock spoke of MacGuffins, a term originated by a Scottish screenwriter. Others, more commonly, call them red herrings. Whatever term you use, they’re...
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China played a huge role in World War II, if only because it occupied millions of Japanese soldiers in a futile attempt to subdue one of the biggest countries in the world. The virtue of history is that it affords us perspective—not just the distance that the passage of time occasions but the...
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You’re unlikely ever to have come across her name before, but you’ll be fascinated by the remarkable story Berkeley author Adam Hochschild tells about her life in his latest excursion into popular history. Rose Pastor Stokes was one of the most famous and influential people, women OR...
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At a time when Americans have grown increasingly concerned about corruption in our political system, it’s useful to review the origins of electoral democracy in England. After all, our own representative democracy honored the same historical roots as the British parliamentary system. And the...
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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.