Ironic, isn’t it? Some of the best English mystery novels are written by people who aren’t British. Consider the work of Elizabeth George, an American born in Ohio, and the Texan Deborah Crombie. To my mind, they’re easily the equal of Ian Rankin and Kate Atkinson, among the...
Read More
War makes no sense. Yet if any single thing defines the human experience, it may be the tendency of tribes and organized states alike to rush to arms against those they perceive as enemies. For example, the United States has been engaged in military action almost from the day the country gained...
Read More
What Senator Bernie Sanders calls the “billionaire class” has had a profound impact on American society—and, indeed, on the world at large. Still, I was surprised to learn that so many of the books I’ve reviewed involve billionaires playing instrumental roles. Yes, they’ve built huge and...
Read More
Okay, it’s not entirely accurate to call the books listed below as “Russian mysteries and thrillers.” If the truth be told, none of them are. They’re mysteries and thrillers written by people who aren’t Russian. But they’re set in Russia, some of them in the present day, others in the past. Or the...
Read More
The mid-year point offers a convenient opportunity to take stock, with a glance back at the best books of 2023 so far. Now, when I write “best books,” keep in mind that I’m only writing about the best books I’ve read from January 1 to June 30. In short, they’re only the “best” of more than...
Read More
Please focus on the headline. What you’ll see below is a list of the five best novels about politics—as distinct from political novels. The stories here cast light on the mechanics of the political process—insider baseball, if you will. By contrast, a political novel reflects the...
Read More
Since at least the 1930s, the Hollywood-based film industry has been capturing the world’s imagination. Films such as Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane represent America in general and California in particular as surely as any legion of diplomats. And writers have noticed....
Read More
If you’re a science fiction fan, you may well have come across Blake Crouch’s work on television. The Wayward Pines series, based on Crouch’s bestselling trilogy, captured a wide audience—and deservedly so. But you’re going to see a lot more of the man’s work on the screen in the future, as his...
Read More
I’ve spent more than half my life in business, engaged in founding or leading a number of small companies. So it’s only natural that I should read a good deal about economic and business history. Here, I’ve listed more than sixty of the best books about the history of business...
Read More
Even if you’re a fan of espionage fiction, you may not yet be familiar with the name Paul Vidich. You should be. Vidich writes great spy novels in the grand tradition of Eric Ambler, Graham Greene, and John le Carré. His historical espionage tales rank with those of his better-known...
Read More
Octavia Butler was the author of three cycles of science fiction novels—two Parable books, the Xenogenesis trilogy, and five books in the Patternmaster series—as well as two standalone novels. She is also credited with seven graphic novels (including Black Panther) produced in collaboration with...
Read More
For the record, what follows is not a list of the best popular fiction published during the past year. Instead, I’ve rejected the practice of those reviewers who imply they’ve read and reviewed the many thousands of popular (or trade) novels published in any given...
Read More
Fair warning: although the headline promises the “best books of 2022,” what follows is not a list of the best books published during the past year. Instead, I’ve chosen not to challenge the New York Times and every other mainstream publication that each year publishes its own...
Read More
To be clear, what follows is not a list of the best science fiction published during the past year. Instead, I’ve chosen not to copy those reviewers who imply they’ve read the many thousands of science fiction novels published in any given year. Nobody, and no team...
Read More
To be clear, what follows is not a list of the best mysteries and thrillers published during the past year. Instead, I’ve decided not to copy those reviewers who imply they’ve read the many thousands of mysteries and thrillers published in any given year. Nobody, and no...
Read More
Fair warning: although the headline promises the “best nonfiction of 2022,” what follows is not a list of the best published during the past year. Instead, I’ve chosen not to compete with any reviewers who may imply they’ve read the many thousands of nonfiction books published in...
Read More
First Contact has been in the science fiction lexicon since 1935. According to the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction, Murray Leinster first employed the term in his story “Proxima” that appeared in Astounding Stories in March 1935. In the following decades, Clifford Simak,...
Read More
Few of us in the 21st century think much about the medieval era. Nor are we likely to believe that life in that time bears any meaningful relationship to the world around us today. Yet that would be a mistake. Much of what we take for granted traces its origins to the Middle Ages. The banking...
Read More
The first espionage novels appeared early in the 19th century with the publication of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Spy in 1821 and The Bravo in 1831. A few other notable titles were published in the ensuing decades, and Sherlock Holmes got into the act around the turn of the...
Read More
To date, I’ve read and reviewed some 300 detective novels. Most of those involve police investigators. After all, there are 800,000 police officers working in the United States and only about 32,000 private detectives, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The conceit of crime writers...
Read More
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.
Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
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.
Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
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.