The Latest
Why do some novels win literary awards?
Let's see if we can figure out why this paper-thin work of fiction won wide recognition and a literary award for its author. Snow Hunters introduces . . . let's count them: eight characters in 226 pages: Yohan, a North Korean soldier captured by UN forces late in the Korean...
SCIENCE FICTION
A motley crew sets out on a troubled mission to Saturn’s moon Titan
It's 2031. Tech billionaire John Ward is financing a two-year mission to Saturn's biggest moon, Titan. Convinced that Earth will eventually become unlivable and that Mars is inhospitable and impractical for colonization, he has settled on Titan as the last best hope to ensure...
MYSTERIES & THRILLERS
The roots of this detective’s career lie in the Cultural Revolution
For years, Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau had been widely celebrated as a "rising cadre" in the Communist Party. He was a man on his way up, rumored to soon be tapped as the Bureau's Party Secretary. But his success has undone him. Chen has exposed too...
NONFICTION
A view from the American trenches in the First World War
Twenty-nine-year-old Richard Newhall was teaching history at Harvard. Younger at 22, George Haydock, a Quaker, was a recent graduate, as was Alexander McKinlock a wealthy football hero. Younger still, William Morgan was an undergraduate there. By contrast, graduate George...
Popular Fiction
Why do some novels win literary awards?
Let's see if we can figure out why this paper-thin work of fiction won wide recognition and a literary award for its author. Snow Hunters introduces . . . let's count them: eight characters in 226 pages: Yohan, a North Korean soldier captured by UN forces late in the Korean...
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
20 top nonfiction books about World War II
Here are 20 nonfiction books that present a broad overview of World War II and the factors that led up to it. The list does not fully reflect the war’s global dimensions. It’s biased toward an American, British, and French point of view.
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
