Books

Book Review: “Leon Battista Alberti: The Chameleon’s Eye” — Not Your Classic Renaissance Man

January 23, 2023
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This splendid biography of Leon Battista Alberti, beautifully produced, with a rich selection of well-placed and well-reproduced illustrations, vividly portrays one of the most complex and fascinating figures in a complex and fascinating time, one whose preoccupations are entirely relevant today.

Book Review: “Run Towards the Danger” — Grappling With Memories of Trauma

January 18, 2023
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Sarah Polley’s essay on sexual assault by itself is worth the price of the book, essential reading for anyone interested in the physical and psychological after-effects of violence against women.

Arts Commentary: We Will Have to Eat Our Spinach — And Like It

January 17, 2023
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Given that the Climate Emergency will grow more challenging over time, we (including literary novelists) shouldn’t be so cavalier about not eating our spinach.

Book Reviews: Discoveries Galore — Three Children’s Books About the Natural World

January 17, 2023
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This trio of beautifully-illustrated children’s books offer journeys into science that rival science fiction.

Poetry Review: “Places of Permanent Shade” – The Work and Echo of Creation

January 9, 2023
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This staunchly eclectic collection is also fiercely focused, unified by the fact that regardless of the subject, the poet never blinks, never looks away, never hesitates to name the pain.

Book Review: “On The Marble Cliffs” — History as Dreamscape

January 7, 2023
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Maintaining liberty in the face of totalitarian fantasy calls for vigilance. Ernst Jünger’s cautionary tale may be more resonant now than when it was first published.

Book Review: “No One Left To Come Looking For You” — An Amusing Excursion

January 7, 2023
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Sam Lipsyte’s latest novel does a bang-up job of capturing the edgy and zany milieu of the early ’90s.

Children’s Book Reviews: A Pair of Cautionary Animal Tales

January 4, 2023
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Two books for children that address the climate crisis.

Book Review: “Way Down in the Hole” — The Agonies of Solitary Confinement

January 3, 2023
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Some readers may be surprised to learn that a high percentage of the men and women who spend time in solitary confinement have been diagnosed with severe mental illness.

Book Review: A Beautiful Brick in the Wall — Asian Americans and Whites in Pursuit of the American Dream in Suburban Schools

January 2, 2023
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This is an indispensable study for anyone — including scholars, policy makers, and educators — who yearns to better understand how race and culture play out in a rarefied suburban milieu.

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