Category: NON FICTION

December 7, 2022

Ultra by Rachel Maddow **** (of 4)

Not a book or, at least, not yet a book, but a podcast. The genius of the production is that it is ostensibly a recounting...

Book Reviews

2 Comments

September 30, 2022

The Last Slave Ship by Ben Raines *** (of 4)

On the face of it, the story of 100 enslaved Africans smuggled into Mobile, Alabama does not feel that significant among the 12.5 million Africans...

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0 Comments

September 16, 2022

How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith *** (of 4)

Clint Smith educates white Americans who likely never learned the true extent and depth of slavery in the foundation and enduring legacy of the country....

Book Reviews

3 Comments

September 4, 2022

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe ** (of 4)

Keefe is the author of a couple of other books I thought were terrific (Empire of Pain, Say Nothing), but not this one. A staff...

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0 Comments

August 19, 2022

River of the Gods by Candace Millard **** (of 4)

By the 1860s California had absorbed an influx of hundreds of thousands of gold miners, the southern states of the U.S. had seceded, and North...

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0 Comments

July 27, 2022

To a Mountain in Tibet by Colin Thubron *** (of 4)

Mount Kailash in Tibet is a mountain revered and sanctified by Hindus and Muslims. Walking around its base cleanses the soul and brings respect and...

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1 Comments

July 27, 2022

Between Genius and Genocide by Dan Charles *** (of 4)

Fritz Haber may be the most important forgotten man in history. He is responsible for saving more lives than any other human being and, at...

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0 Comments

June 20, 2022

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher by Timothy Egan *** (of 4)

As the 19th century was drawing to a close, the photographer Edward Curtis took it upon himself to photo-document and record ethnographic information on every...

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0 Comments

May 10, 2022

The Queen by Josh Levin ** (of 4)

In principle, the story of Linda Taylor, the woman stuck with the appellation of America’s Welfare Queen, upon whom so much political scorn has been...

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0 Comments

March 23, 2022