Category: Books/Museum Reviews

  • The Rush by Nathaniel Philbrick

    Fear not, dear readers. Nathaniel Philbrick is still at the top of his game with The Rush. And as per usual, this book is way more than it looks like from the title and the cover. Gold is one thing. What people do with it becomes the real story. Philbrick starts with the famed discovery…

  • The Cauldron by Simon Sebag Montefiore

    Do you think the Middle East is a bit of a mess? You may be correct, but you are probably oversimplifying a bit. If anything, the Middle East is a perfect example of how not to build countries. Drawing lines on a map without the input of the people who live within those lines should…

  • Basic Pistol by Harel Shapira

    I always enjoy a book which seeks to humanize everyone on both sides of a contentious issue. In the case of Harel Shapira’s Basic Pistol, he is the liberal walking into the conservative world of guns. Shapira approaches this alien world from the perspective of a sociologist trying to understand the passion of the other…

  • Lucky Devils by Kit Chellel

    Lucky Devils by Kit Chellel has a lot going for it. Chellel’s writing is quite vibrant, and the fact we keep getting Ocean’s Eleven movies proves we love a good caper. This isn’t a heist book but more of a long-term strategy to make a bunch of money through both legal and maybe not legal…

  • The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker

    I am not going to lie to you. The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker is going to crush your soul. It’s about a specific type of dementia which destroys an entire family. You’re going to cry. Your heart will break. However, there is hope. More importantly, there are people who stare this tragedy in the…

  • Vanishing Point by Tom Wilber

    I am so happy a book like this exists. Tom Wilber documents a search for a B-24 bomber which disappeared on a training mission in the northeast U.S. during World War II. There is something so visceral about this story which had me captivated from the first page. It might be the veteran in me,…

  • All the Wrong Moves by Anthony Scaramucci

    I know, I know. Anthony Scaramucci occupies that special place where seemingly every part of the political spectrum has a negative thing to say about him. He worked for Trump, but he also got fired after 11 days. Now he has written a book whose premise is that Trump is the result of three terrible…

  • It’s All About the Players by Peter Gammons

    I have two very simple questions for you in this review. Do you love baseball? Do you know Peter Gammons as one of the best baseball writers of all time? If the answer is yes to both, then clearly It’s All About the Players is for you (as it was for me). Gammons does essentially…

  • Shadow Before the Flame by Catherine Grace Katz

    There are two types of disaster books in my mind. The first, and much less interesting, is laser-focused on the event. The narrative revolves around the event itself and the carnage and drama around the tragedy. It is about setting things up only as far as necessary to get to the calamity. The second, and…