The Latest
Alan Furst explores espionage and the Holocaust in the Balkans
In the long, tense years of the Cold War, spy stories and films about the rivalry between East and West appeared in such profusion that the genre degenerated into self-parody, eventually giving birth to bawdy satires. There were exceptions, of course, notably in the work of...
SCIENCE FICTION
The world is ending. For real. And not with a whimper but a bang.
Try to imagine what might happen if a huge asteroid were heading straight for Earth and nothing could stop it. The human race would be annihilated. Do you think for a minute that people would just continue living their lives and content themselves with wishful thinking and...
MYSTERIES & THRILLERS
Alan Furst explores espionage and the Holocaust in the Balkans
In the long, tense years of the Cold War, spy stories and films about the rivalry between East and West appeared in such profusion that the genre degenerated into self-parody, eventually giving birth to bawdy satires. There were exceptions, of course, notably in the work of...
NONFICTION
Were British double agents the key to the Normandy invasion?
Americans' views of the Second World War have been dominated by films, books, and television specials about the role that U.S. troops played in the fighting. Even today, more than three-quarters of a century after the war ended, we tend to believe that it was our ingenuity and...
Popular Fiction
British explorers risk death in forbidden Tibet in 1869
Explorers today plumb the oceans' trenches and the vast reaches of solar space. For the truly adventurous who seek to cross humanity's last frontiers, few if any big challenges remain on land. But a century and a half ago, the opportunities for Western explorers to make their...
Explore My “BEST OF the category” selections
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?
When people ask me that question, I never know what to say. In a lifetime of reading, I’ve read many thousands of books. And I’ve reviewed well over 2,000 of them on this site. Picking just one as a “favorite,” or even a handful of them, makes no sense to me.
The problem is, I read for many different reasons. Perhaps you do, too. And I read many different sorts of books. Mysteries and thrillers. Popular fiction, especially historical fiction. Science fiction.
And nonfiction, history in particular. You’ll find hundreds of reviews in every one of those categories on this site.
Look to the right for a rotating random selection culled from throughout this site.
Happy reading!
My Most Popular Reviews
10 top nonfiction books about World War II
If you've been reading my reviews for very long, you're aware that the World War II era holds special fascination for me. This might have something to do with the fact that I was born then—in fact, about six months before the USA entered the war. Or maybe it's just...
The 15 best espionage novels
Over the past decade, I’ve read and reviewed nearly 200 espionage novels (not counting a great many more I never finished). My 15 favorites—well, make that 16: I couldn't choose—are listed immediately below. Though my preliminary list included multiple titles by...
30 outstanding detective series from around the world
Here you'll find my (admittedly incomplete) guide to the most outstanding detective series set in countries all across the world. It's a work in progress. Expect to see more added here from time to time. Below I’ve listed 30 outstanding detective series set outside...
The ultimate guide to the all-time best science fiction novels
OK, I’d better qualify that headline. In this survey, I’m not including science fiction written before World War II. Or, for that matter, short stories or anthologies, comic books, or manga. And definitely not fantasy: zombies, vampires, witches, dragons, superheroes,...
Weekly book reviews to match your taste!
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Enjoy reading!
Mal Warwick
