The Latest

SCIENCE FICTION

MYSTERIES & THRILLERS

NONFICTION

A true story of high finance and murder in Putin’s Russia

A true story of high finance and murder in Putin’s Russia

Even if you follow international news only casually, you're likely to be aware that Putin's Russia is a kleptocracy. Two dozen oligarchs effectively run the country. Some, including President Vladimir Putin himself, hold government office. Others are private "bankers" and...

read more

Popular Fiction

A sprawling Indian family in Delhi confronts its demons

A sprawling Indian family in Delhi confronts its demons

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi died at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Violence erupted immediately. Anti-Sikh riots raged for four days, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Sikhs. Eight years later, in December 1992, an organized mob of 70,000...

read more

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!

 

Cover image of "Ninety Percent of Everything,"

What makes globalization work?

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Globalization is puzzling. That iPhone you may have at hand contains parts manufactured in forty-three countries on six continents—and that doesn't even count the raw materials. But how did all that stuff get to the factory in China or India that fit them together...
Hi Five is about crime and punishment in the ghetto.

Multiple personalities, neo-Nazis, and a psychopathic arms dealer

Now, we've known all along that IQ, more formally known as Isaiah Quintabe, is supremely talented at making trouble for himself and practically everyone around him. But in Hi Five, the fourth of the novels in the series, he outdoes himself. In the space of 352 pages, Isaiah manages to infuriate a...
Cover image of "Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn"

A balanced new history of Israel, warts and all

Few subjects are more likely to set off heated arguments among American Jews than the actions of the State of Israel. Since the country claimed its independence in 1948, Israel's wars and its relations with the Palestinian Arabs who live inside its disputed borders have accounted for more tears...
Cover image of "The Keeper of Lost Causes," an example of superb Scandinavian noir

Superb Scandinavian noir from Denmark

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes You know about Scandinavian noir from Sweden (Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson) and Norway (Jo Nesbö). How about Denmark? If your memory's long, perhaps you're familiar with Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg, which came out of Denmark (and Greenland) more than...
King of Spies reveals the shameful reality of America's role in the Korean War.

The shameful reality of America’s role in the Korean War

We know very little about America's role in the Korean War. History books relate how Kim Il-Sung's North Korean army invaded the South. They tell us that the invasion succeeded in driving US and South Korean troops down the length of the peninsula. Then, we learn, General Douglas MacArthur saved...
Cover image of "The First Tycoon,"

The first robber baron and the emergence of the corporation

Version 1.0.0 He was the first robber baron. Other familiar names from the nineteenth century—John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan—were young men in the early days of their careers when he was at the peak of his fame. Following the Civil War, he became the richest person in American...
Is The Burning Room by Michael Connelly the best Harry Bosch novel?

Michael Connelly’s best Harry Bosch novel?

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes Welcome to Los Angeles, and be sure to pronounce that name correctly, the Spanish way more and more people do in the increasingly diverse Southland of California. In Harry Bosch's world, as in reality today, perps, victims, and cops alike are increasingly likely...
The Devil's Company

Early industrial espionage in 18th century Britain

I enjoy reading books the most when I'm learning something from them. History or historical fiction that unravels the mysteries of the past. Science fiction that introduces mind-bending new ideas or clever twists on older ones. And mystery and suspense fiction that helps me understand how people...
Cover image of one book in The Night Soldiers series by Alan Furst

The evocative Night Soldiers series from Alan Furst

Alan Furst has written fifteen novels to date in his Night Soldiers series, which he began writing late in the 1980s when he was nearly 50 years of age. While attending general studies courses at Columbia University, he became acquainted with Margaret Mead, for whom he later worked. Before...
Cover image of "Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction,"

How people really lived in Medieval Europe

What comes first to mind when you think of Europe in the Middle Ages? Unending violence and unspeakable tortures? Babies and young children dying so often that parents would never dare to love them? Medical and surgical procedures so barbaric that ill or wounded people would have been better off...

My Most Popular Reviews

Weekly Reviews Delivered to You!

Mal Warwick - Book Reviews

Weekly book reviews to match your taste!

Love mysteries and thrillers? Historical fiction fan? Prefer to read nonfiction? Or, like me, you just love reading? Take your pick of my three weekly newsletters. Just click the Yes! button, and you’re on your way.

Here you can take your pick of the three newsletters I publish each week. They’re all free of ads, and I never share subscribers’ email addresses with anyone. Just make your newsletter selections below.

Feel free to subscribe to any or all of these newsletters. Remember, they’re ad-free, and I won’t share your contact information with anyone.

Enjoy reading!

Mal Warwick

The latest mystery
& thriller book
reviews every Tuesday.

…includes my latest mystery and thriller book reviews, with links to other content in the genre.

The latest nonfiction book reviews every Wednesday.

…includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

My latest
book reviews,
every Thursday.

…includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

...includes summaries and links to all of the week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Mystery & Thriller Book
Reviews Every Week

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Nonfiction Book
Reviews Every Week

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Latest Book Reviews of the Week

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Tuesday's Newsletter

Tuesday's Newsletter

Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Wednesday's Newsletter

Wednesday's Newsletter

Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

The Weekly Newsletter

Thursday's Newsletter

The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

You have Successfully Subscribed!