Category: America

April 27, 2022

Damascus Station by David McCloskey *** (of 4)

Soon after the Arab Spring reached Syria, Hafez Assad reacted to public uprisings with vicious government sponsored violence. Protestors were arrested, tortured, and slaughtered with...

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April 27, 2022

The Eagle’s Claw: A Novel of the Battle of Midway by Jeffrey Shaara *** (of 4)

Ostensibly, the single battle that shaped the outcome of WW II (of which, there are no doubt many such single battles bearing that accolade), is...

America

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March 23, 2022

The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr **** (of 4)

At some level all of us who shop for food know that canned tomatoes don’t really grow in cans and that frozen shrimp don’t really...

America

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March 23, 2022

Looking for the Good War by Elizabeth Samet *** (of 4)

An onion of a book, not just because it can bring you to tears, but because of its layers. In the outer layer, Samet re-describes...

America

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February 17, 2022

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Crosby **** (of 4)

Ike and Buddy Lee couldn’t be more different or more the same. Ike is Black and barely the survivor of deeply embedded southern racism. Buddy...

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January 31, 2022

Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury by Evan Osnos **** (of 4)

Journalism is a first attempt to record history, and Osnos makes an outstanding first pass over the period in America between September 11, 2001 and...

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January 9, 2022

The Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price *** (of 4)

Truly, everything you might ever want to know about Vikings and how they ruled with terrible violence is scrutinized. Scandinavia, Western Europe, and the British...

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December 24, 2021

Harlem Shuffle **** (of 4) Colson Whitehead

It is the early 1960s and Ray Carney sells contemporary furniture from a showroom on 125th Street in Harlem, New York City’s Black enclave. Harlem...

African American Literature

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December 7, 2021

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara *** (of 4)

One big difference between true crime and mystery novels is that when true crimes are committed, it’s not unusual for the perpetrator to get away....

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November 30, 2021

Dark Towers by David Enrich *** (of 4)

In a marvelous job of explaining obscure ways of making money, David Enrich details how Deutsche Bank grew from a sleepy, domestic, German lender into...

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