Books

Book Review: Refugee Scholars — “Well Worth Saving”

December 10, 2019
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This is a carefully-researched book of far more than academic interest.

Book Review: The ‘Papa’ of Male Modern Dance, Ted Shawn — A Story of Changing Norms

December 9, 2019
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In this new biography, Ted Shawn is on display in all his narcissism, paternalism, hypocrisy, originality, and the dedication to creative expression that set American modern dance on its way.

Book Review: “A History of Philosophy” — An Excellent Tour for the Curious

December 7, 2019
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A.C. Grayling’s history is an excellent tour for the curious and a refresher for everyone who had Philosophy 101 and wants to remember why it was so moving at the time.

Book Review: “Life Isn’t Everything: Mike Nichols, as remembered by 150 of his Closest Friends” — A Frothy, Gossip-filled Bauble

December 4, 2019
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If you are a fan of Mike Nichols’ large and elegant body of work, you’ll regret as I did that the authors did not take the time to create the kind of book he deserved.

Book Feature: Terry Tempest Williams on the Agonies of “Erosion”

November 29, 2019
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Terry Tempest Williams thinks that we must seize opportunities to save an increasingly endangered world — we don’t have a choice to feel powerless against the forces that seek to exploit and destroy the beauty of life on this planet.

Book Review: “Galway Girl” — Anarchic Fury

November 24, 2019
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Jack Taylor has always been a version of the reluctant detective, but now he seems more impotent than ever — distracted, beat down, and very tired.

Poetry Review: Paul Muldoon’s “Frolic and Detour” — Making the Intricate and Difficult Seem Easy

November 22, 2019
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Frolic and Detour contains a few poems that I judge to be instant classics of English-language poetry.

Book Review: “Blowout” — A Devastating Vision of What is at Stake

November 22, 2019
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This is a brilliant book that comes at a propitious time in our country’s history.

Book Review: “Irving Berlin: New York Genius” — A Significant Life

November 22, 2019
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Biographer James Kaplan was aided by the assistance of Irving Berlin’s two elder daughters, and that makes this biography particularly valuable.

Poetry Review: “If Men, Then” — Verse on Present Day Firing Lines

November 17, 2019
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Because Eliza Griswold’s poems often take place in war zones, she’s always provocative — even when she is tendentious.

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