All Book Reviews
The leaves have turned, so turn a page. Here are November’s 10 best.The 10 best books of November bring light to the shortest days, with new titles from Salman Rushdie, Sarah Hall, and Roy Wood Jr.
In ‘The Name on the Wall,’ Hervé Le Tellier charts rise of extremism“The Name on the Wall” unspools the short life of a French resistance foot soldier, whose ordinary bravery contrasted with the brutality around him.
A love of reading fuels a workingman’s desire for a better lifeBenjamin Wood’s latest novel “Seascraper” recognizes the importance of reconciling practical concerns and necessities with spiritual, emotional ones.
Beyond ‘Almost Famous’: Cameron Crowe shows his ‘Uncool’ side in memoirFilmmaker Cameron Crowe digs into his past as a chronicler of rock ‘n’ roll idols and explores his pivot to the movies.
Children’s cookbooks stir the creativity of budding chefsFour kid-tested and -approved cookbooks yield many servings of fun in the kitchen.
A mystery wrapped in moss and buried in a bogIn Anna North’s "Bog Queen," a female forensic scientist attempts to solve the puzzle of a well-preserved body found in a peat bog.
In ‘Hostage,’ Eli Sharabi chronicles his 491 days in Hamas captivity“Hostage” is a frank account of Eli Sharabi’s time in captivity, our critic writes. It is both difficult to read and difficult to put down.
Fall is for falling in love with books. Here are October’s 10 best.The midautumn crop of books includes a captivating South Seas saga and a lively history of the stock market crash that sparked the Great Depression.
What does the worst stock market crash in history have to tell us today?The immersive new “1929” benefits from journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin’s meticulous archival research and his access to documents never before available, including the board notes from the New York Federal Reserve.
In the framers’ words, the US Constitution was meant as a living documentJill Lepore’s “We the People” examines amendments as engines of change. And “History Matters” offers insights from the late David McCullough.
A writer schools himself on the plight and might of birdsAdam Nicolson, a self-described “beginner in the wood,” unfolds singular facts and compelling anecdotes about birds that fire the imagination.
Kick off autumn with books aplenty. Here are September’s 10 best.Time to put down those summer beach reads and focus on September’s crisp mix of fiction and nonfiction titles.
In this roundup of fall mysteries, everyone has skeletons in the family closetGenerations are teaming up to put away the bad guys in mysteries ranging from the cozy to the decidedly not.
Digging deep into the trenches of World War I in ‘Ring of Fire’“Ring of Fire: A New History of the World at War: 1914” details how colonial powers sought land grabs and new weaponry gave them increased fire power.
Shakespeare’s rival, Marlowe, awakened ‘the genius of the English Renaissance’Elizabethan poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe set the stage for Shakespeare and others, according to Stephen Greenblatt in “Dark Renaissance.”
How ‘Martian mania’ fueled a desire to study the red planet“The Martians” unfolds the fantastical claims of life on Mars, which forced astronomers to bolster their research and separate fact from science fiction.
Amelia Earhart and her husband shared sky-high ambitions“The Aviator and the Showman” probes the question: Why did the fiercely independent flyer go along with the schemes of her promoter spouse?
Let summer linger with the 10 best books of AugustThe Monitor’s reviewers choose the best of August 2025, from novels and biographies to accounts of history.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s travels – and travails – fueled his imagination“Storyteller,” a new biography by Leo Damrosch, arrives amid a brighter spotlight on Stevenson’s life and legacy.
Wagner wrote stunning operas. His political views have a tangled history.“The Ring” exudes dramatic power. Author Michael Downes tackles the controversies, while keeping the music front and center.
