The Latest
How organized crime emerged in NYC a century ago
Crime in its innumerable manifestations has always been with us. But organized crime, American style—commanding the attention of government at the highest level—only came into existence in the US in the years leading up to the First World War. Then, immigrants on New York...
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
Colson Whitehead’s brilliant Harlem Trilogy concludes
In Harlem Shuffle and Crook Manifesto, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Colson Whitehead begins the story of Harlem furniture dealer and part-time fence Ray Carney. Cool Machine concludes the tale in three self-contained but interlocking stories, each set in a different year of...
NONFICTION
How organized crime emerged in NYC a century ago
Crime in its innumerable manifestations has always been with us. But organized crime, American style—commanding the attention of government at the highest level—only came into existence in the US in the years leading up to the First World War. Then, immigrants on New York...
Popular Fiction
Love, disease, and self-deception: the life of Typhoid Mary
Shortly after the 19th century turned into the 20th, a medical sleuth named George Soper, whom we would today call an epidemiologist, identified a young Irish immigrant cook in New York City as an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen that causes typhoid fever. Her name was Mary...
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
