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★★★★☆ This “scientific biography” of tuberculosis (TB) is a fascinating, scholarly account of a persistent, often misunderstood disease. TB, as Kathryn Lougheed so eloquently reveals, has been with us since we became us. With...
★★☆☆☆ Nicky Jenner presents Mars as the planetary neighbor that has most deeply captured the imagination of scientific and artistic communities throughout the eras. Unfortunately, her book 4th Rock from the Sun: The Story...
★★★★☆ Morgue: A Life in Death is an enlightening read; do not be put off by the title. Although there are graphic descriptions of wounds and modes of death, this is not a blood...
★★★☆☆ In 2002, bookstores were enthralled by the card-counting gamblers from MIT in Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House; a year later Michael Lewis’ 2003 book Moneyball showed that baseball could be gamed apart...
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ How do you define words and learn to pronounce them? Do you adhere to Standard English and, at the same time, reconcile it with the spoken English that you...
★★★★☆ Like Rome, no buildings were ever built in a day; however, they can disappear in a day or through the slow accretion of time. In the thoughtful and provocative Fallen Glory, James Crawford...
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Robert Moor opens his book On Trails by recalling the five months he spent walking the Appalachian Trail (AT) from Georgia to Maine. His timing was unidyllic as that...
★☆☆☆☆ Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips asks us to cast aside our desire for the forbidden and taboo, in favor of the society-approved pleasures readily available to us. His book Unforbidden Pleasures is a wandering exploration...
★★★☆☆ An uneven collection of essays, criticism and reviews, Mary Gaitskill’s Somebody With a Little Hammer is as frustrating as it is inspiring. Despite a handful of standout, excellent pieces, much of the work...
