Books
BOOK REVIEWS: ‘The Last Outlaws,’ ‘God Save Benedict Arnold’ and ‘A Murder in Hollywood’
I've recently read and enjoyed three interesting historical true crime books. The books cover Wild West bank robbers, a notorious traitor, a movie star and her gangster boyfriend.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Did It Happen Here?’
The question of whether fascism threatens American democracy became a liberal preoccupation from the moment Donald Trump announced his run for the White House.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here’
No issue better exemplifies our political dysfunction than immigration.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Sailing the Graveyard Sea’
Richard Snow, a former editor-in-chief of American Heritage magazine and a consultant on historical motion pictures, has written a fascinating book about a mutiny aboard a U.S. Navy ship in 1842.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Climate and Energy: The Case for Realism’
"Human emissions of greenhouse gases are causing long term catastrophic climate change." This is the kind of "settled science" narrative that is countered by "Climate and Energy: The Case for Realism."
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability’
"It is a world in which there is one master, one sovereign. And at the end of the day, this is pernicious not only for all those within this system, but also for the sovereign itself because it destroys itself from within."
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Gangsterland’
Podcast host Pete A. Turner observed, "If Dave Pietrusza has written it, it's going to be fun." And fun Gangsterland is.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Politics of Modelling’
Two of the biggest issues impacting public health and welfare involve COVID-19 and climate change decisions.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy’
Robert Hardman's "The Making of a King" looks at a world most readers will never directly experience.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘A Fabulous Failure’
A minor blunder in Bill Clinton's first year in the White House seemed to portend the false hope of a free trade regime that now defines working-class discontent with global capitalism.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Search for Reagan’
In a world seemingly in chaos dealing with wars abroad and unstable domestic politics, it is heartening to see that author Craig Shirley has produced yet another important study of Ronald Reagan.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘How Do We Get Out of Here’
I could write a book review here, but I don't feel like it. I feel more like writing a story of a friendship in commemoration of a great memoir. So begrudge me.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Environmental Strategic Communication”
A need for enhanced environmental communication has been building over the past few decades. The need became quite apparent with the advent of angst over climate change and COVID-19.
Adan Canto, known for his roles in ‘X-Men’ and ‘Designated Survivor,’ dies at 42
Adan Canto, the Mexican singer and actor best known for his roles in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "Agent Game" as well as the TV series "The Cleaning Lady," has died. He was 42.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Life We Chose’
I thought Matt Birkbeck's book about mobsters William "Big Billy" D'Elia and Russell Bufalino was interesting, especially the sections on South Philadelphia, where I grew up.
A Christmastime roundup of true crime and crime fiction for aficionados
This Holiday season, one might want to buy the crime aficionado on your shopping list one or more of this year's fine true crime or crime fiction books.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare From 1945 to Ukraine’
Does war work? This question lingers in the pages of Andrew Roberts' study of the roles that strategic leadership, exemplary tactics and technological prowess played in determining the outcome of conflicts.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Lumumba Plot’
Patrice Lumumba was an inspirational hero to millions of his countrymen.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Deception: The Great COVID Cover-Up’
Americans have a right to know if their tax dollars were indirectly used to create the COVID-19 pandemic.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West’
Igor Gouzenko, Oleg Penkovsky and Oleg Gordievsky are not names that immediately come to mind when thinking about the people who influenced the outcome of the Cold War.
