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20 top nonfiction books about World War II

20 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 because it...

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Popular Fiction

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!

 

Jerry Brown biography: Trailblazer by Chuck McFadden

A new biography serves up Jerry Brown, once over lightly

A review of Trailblazer: A Biography of Jerry Brown, by Chuck McFadden. @@@ (3 out of 5). The contradiction-filled story of California Governor Jerry Brown in less than 200 pages.

Transmission is a childish sci-fi novel.

A YA novel about first contact that’s . . . well, childish

Some of the very best science fiction novels I've read have been marketed for young adults. After all, there's nothing inherently wrong with a 13-or 14-year-old protagonist. You know it's unlikely there'll be any smoldering sex scenes or extravagant use of profanity. But otherwise there's no...
Cover image of "Going Zero," a novel about a possible American surveillance state

The CIA and a Facebook look-alike join forces in surveillance

When we think of surveillance so pervasive that it seems impossible to hide, most Americans' minds turn to today's China. Certainly, the Chinese have surpassed past totalitarian regimes such as the Soviet Union and East Germany in tracking the actions—and thoughts—of their citizens. But in the...
Cover image of "The Pretender,"

A royal scam in 15th century England

One day in 1480 a nameless nobleman and a priest show up at Will Collan's farm. They've come for his 12-year-old son, John. As they explain to the boy, he's not John Collan but a legitimate claimant to the English throne. As a small child, his partisans had hidden him away in the countryside to...
Secret offshore banks are the key to The Bank of Fear.

Saddam Hussein, secret offshore banks, and a dissolute Saudi prince

Sam Hoffman grew into his work as a financial investigator specializing in the Arab world from childhood. His father had been a senior officer in the CIA with powerful connections throughout the Middle East and was still active as a private citizen. He "had grown up in Beirut, where his father had...
Cover image of "A Sunlit Weapon," a novel about the women pilots of World War II

Maisie Dobbs meets Eleanor Roosevelt

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes In Jacqueline Winspear's 17th Maisie Dobbs novel, the brilliant "psychologist and investigator" meets the world-famous wife of the President of the United States. But that meeting is a long way off as the story opens. And how it comes about is a complex tale...
Cover image of "The Sisters Brothers," a novel about hired killers in the Old West

Hired killers, the California Gold Rush, and lots of surprises

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Here's a Western that's more Deadwood than Gunsmoke. It had to be: it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. And the panjandrums who manage that process aren't known to show favor to run-of-the-mill genre writing. The Sisters brothers of the title are notorious...
Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

“Sizzling Sixteen”: mix and match familiar characters in several cute sub-plots

You find yourself in Trenton, New Jersey. (Don't ask why.) Your cast of characters includes the following: Stephanie Plum, an incompetent, thirty-something bounty hunter ("bond enforcement agent") of mixed Hungarian and Italian ancestry; Morelli, a handsome homicide detective whose long-standing...
Cover image of "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store," one of the best books of the year

The 21 best books of 2023

Those “best books of the year” lists you come across in mainstream publications single out what they assert to be the best work published during the calendar year. But that’s not what you’ll find here. Or at least it’s not all you’ll see below. Instead, I’m listing here the best books I’ve...
Cover image of "The Poet's Game," a novel about a spy in Moscow.

Paul Vidich launches a new series of compelling spy novels

When we first meet Alex Matthews, he is on an errand for his old friend, the CIA Director. Matthews had once served as Moscow Station Chief. Now, having left the Agency nine years earlier, he is in Moscow running an investment firm. But this night he is on his way to meet BYRON, a spy he'd...

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Mal Warwick - Book Reviews

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