Category: NON FICTION

January 9, 2014

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman *** (of 4)

It’s hard being female in a Hasidic community. It’s impossible to question authority in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, inside the dense community of Satmar Hasids. If, however,...

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January 4, 2014

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage ** (of 4) by Ann Patchett

This is a collection of Patchett’s non-fiction essays, all previously published. Well-written, autobiographical, unresearched, and self-aggrandizing. Patchett is not only a strong writer, but she...

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January 1, 2014

The Guns at Last Light by Rick Atkinson **** (of 4)

Like a great general, not a good one, but a great one, Rick Atkinson tracks the final battles for European supremacy as the Second World...

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December 6, 2013

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by Anya von Bremzen *** (of 5)

What an interesting idea. Mix together a memoir of family history in the old Soviet Union with some Soviet history and the signature foods of...

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September 30, 2013

Zealot by Reza Aslan *** (of 4)

Before Jesus was the Christ (Savior), he was Jesus of Nazareth. This book does its best to set the scene in First Century Palestine. The...

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September 3, 2013

Iron Curtain by Anne Applebaum ** (of 4)

World War II came to an end in large measure because the Russian Army came to the aid of the Allied Forces. Irate at having...

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August 6, 2013

Going Clear by Lawrence Wright **** (of 5)

It took great courage to write this book. Anyone that has ever crossed the Church of Scientology has, pursuant to church ideology, been hounded by...

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August 5, 2013

The Days of the French Revolution by Christopher Hibbert ** (of 4)

After attempting Simon Schama’s philosophical treatise on the French Revolution, I thought it best to turn to Christopher Hibbert to get the play-by-play. What a...

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July 23, 2013

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama *** (of 4)

OK, I didn’t finish the book. After more than 300 pages of fine print and exquisitely crafted sentences I perished of exhaustion before ever learning...

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July 23, 2013