Books

Book Review: Yang Jisheng’s “The World Turned Upside Down”

January 19, 2021
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Those who admire Yang Jisheng’s distinguished career should pick up this book. Those searching for a solid, accessible history of Mao’s Cultural Revolution should look elsewhere.

Book Review: “World of Wonders” — A Natural Counter to the Chaos of Our Political Moment

January 15, 2021
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These essays aren’t overly scientific; instead, they remind us, with a gentle nudge, to take delight in nature, to pay attention to it, to be observant.

Book Review: “The Ocean House” — Infiltrating the Beachheads of Memory

January 7, 2021
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Mary-Beth Hughes’s penetrating glimpses into the depths of her characters’ lives make us more deeply aware of our own.

Book Review: “How 1984 Became Pop’s Blockbuster Year”

January 5, 2021
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Music fans who miss, or missed, the long party that was mainstream music in the mid-’80s will be skillfully taken back to fast times in Can’t Slow Down.

Book Review: “I Died a Million Times” — Upwardly Mobile in Film Noir

January 5, 2021
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I Died a Million Times is an enjoyable and informative read for film noir aficionados and casual movie fans alike, offering a cogent analysis of ’50s gangster noir as a cinema of social commentary.

Book Review: “Desert Oracle” — Dwelling on the Fringe

January 3, 2021
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Desert Oracle is an omnibus, a kind of hand drawn map, as well as a bit of a crackup — something you will peruse and possibly find the route leading to a deeper dive.

Book Review: “Savage Kiss” — Children’s Criminal Crusade

January 2, 2021
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Maybe the greatest value of Saviano’s narratives is that they rebuke the complicity of silence; they are acts of dissent that refuse to kowtow to the oppressive omertà.

Book Review: “This Isn’t Happening: Radiohead’s “Kid A”” — An Enduring Soundtrack for our Malaise

December 24, 2020
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Steven Hyden’s ,/em>This Isn’t Happening, a book-length appreciation of Radiohead and Kid A is one of the best books I read all year.

Book Review: “This Is Bop” — A Biography of Jon Hendricks, Master of Vocalese

December 22, 2020
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This biography provides a solid look at Jon Hendricks’s life and career; a well-rounded picture that is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job.

Book Review: Colum McCann’s “Apeirogon” — Showing a Path Forward

December 21, 2020
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Although some of Apeirogon is painful, this novel can inspire you to think differently and even to act, which is surely welcome after this horrible year in which we have all felt so helpless.

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