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A powerful look at how “we” got here
Bob Moyer reviews a book about black performers in America – and a great deal more. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A LITTLE DEVIL IN AMERICA: Notes in Praise of Black Performance. By Hanif Abdurraqib. Random House. 300 pages. $27. This book is much greater than the sum of its pages. Hanif Abdurraqib has created […]
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A house filled with tears
Rob Moyer loves detective fiction, it’s true. But from time to time, his interest in human nature – including its darker sides – takes him into the serious nonfiction realm, and particularly into the horrors of the Holocaust. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer LETTERS TO CAMONDO. By Edmund de Waal. Farrah, Straus and Giroux. 182 […]
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Here’s the buzz
My husband, Lloyd Brinson, was a science teacher for many years, and he’s also become a pretty accomplished gardener. He already knew a good bit about the importance of pollinators – he raises eyebrows in our neighborhood by carefully mowing around patches of blooming clover in our yard – but he still found much to […]
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A different perspective
Paul O’Connor, a veteran journalist, offers a review of a book that he says isn’t easy to read – but worth the effort. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor CASTE: THE ORIGIN OF OUR DISCONTENTS. By Isabel Wilkerson. Random House. 388 pages. $32, hardcover. Many weekday mornings, a friend calls to discuss the news and express […]
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How could he?
Bob Moyer reviews a book that’s both mystery and thriller, as are many of the ones he reads, but this is a nonfiction book of history. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer MENGELE: Unmasking the Angel of Death. By David G. Marwell. Norton. 432 pages. $30. He stood on the ramp, as scores of Jews flooded […]
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Unraveling the girl she was
Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer A GIRL’S STORY. By Annie Ernaux. Seven Stories Press. 160 pages. $18.95 Shame and humiliation. She spent two nights with a man, then fixated on him, in 1958, earning the name “whore around the edges” from her colleagues. She carried that shame with her for 58 years, until she decided to […]
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Striking out
What’s wrong with Major League Baseball? Paul O’Connor, a longtime fan, takes a look at two books published decades ago that warn us about the problems facing the sport now – and no, it’s not all about the pandemic. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor BALL FOUR: THE FINAL PITCH. By Jim Bouton. Audible Studios. 1970. […]
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Out of ‘faded shadows’
Bob Moyer reviews a memoir that’s also the story of piecing together a very personal puzzle. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer WHEN TIME STOPPED: A Memoir of My Father’s War and What Remains. By Ariana Neumann. Scribner. 321 pages. $28. Growing up in Caracas, author Ariana Neumann knew of her father’s family only from the […]
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A lot about a lot
Bob’s back! Actually, Bob Moyer wrote this review before he took off on his recent travels, but it got buried in my email. Check back soon for reviews Bob has written since his return. Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer WORDS AND WORLDS. By Alison Lurie. Delphinium. 225 pages. $25. Alison Lurie has written a lot […]
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The ties that divide
Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson SPYING ON THE SOUTH: An Odyssey Across the American Divide. By Tony Horwitz. Penguin Audio. 17 hours; 14 CDs. Read by Mark Deakins. $45. Also available in print from Penguin Press. The news of Tony Horwitz’ untimely death from cardiac arrest came as I was in the midst of listening […]