Category: Politics

  • Playing for keeps

    Yeah, we know Vladimir Putin is a bad guy. But do we know all the ways he is bad? Paul O’Connor takes a look at a book that lays out some things you probably didn’t know. Very interesting things.   Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor   FREEZING ORDER: A TRUE STORY OF RUSSIAN MONEY LAUNDERING,…

  • The common folks vs. Boss Hog – a horror story

    Paul O’Connor reviews what he calls a nonfiction legal thriller – and warns that reading it might be hazardous to your appetite. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor WASTELANDS: THE TRUE STORY OF FARM COUNTRY ON TRIAL. By Corban Addison.  Knopf. 464 pages, hardcover. $30. Also available from Random House Audio. Read by Rob Shapiro. 16 hours…

  • On the brink, as seen by one who’s been there

    Wondering why there’s a war in Ukraine? This book might shed some light – on that, and on what else might be over “the edge.” Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor LESSONS FROM THE EDGE: A MEMOIR. By Marie Jovanovitch. Harper Audio. 17 hours, 11 minutes. $37. Also available in hardback. Mariner Books. 416 pages. $30.…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Depressing, yet compelling

    Paul O’Connor reviews a book he meant to read long ago, one that still offers important lessons. Like Paul, I find that I will listen to the audio version of difficult books I cannot make myself read in print. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor A BRIGHT SHINING LIE: JOHN PAUL VANN AND AMERICA IN VIETNAM.…

  • Through a screen, darkly

    From time to time, my younger son, a Navy officer, contributes a review. This one is particularly timely, not to mention thought-provoking. Reviewed by Lt. Samuel Brinson LIKEWAR: The Weaponization of Social Media. By P. W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 416 pages. $28 Over the last few years, the internet and…

  • Not easy reading – but important

    Tom Dillon, a veteran journalist, reviews two books that offer serious food for thought – one an investigative examination of Donald Trump’s business dealings with Russia, and the other a primer on dealing with tyranny. Reviewed by Tom Dillon TRUMP/RUSSIA: A DEFINITIVE HISTORY.By Seth Hettena. Melville House. 254 pages, $27.99. ON TYRANNY: TWENTY LESSONS FROM…

  • Challenging the powerful, a reporter’s story

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson REPORTER. By Seymour M. Hersh. Random House Audio. 14 hours; 11 CDs. Read by Arthur Morey. $40. Also available in print from Knopf, 355 pages, $27.95. “I am a survivor from the golden age of journalism…” begins Seymour M. Hersh in his remarkable memoir, the aptly named Reporter. On a…

  • What did the president know …

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson RICHARD NIXON: The Life. By John A. Farrell. Random House Audio. Read by Dan Woren. 29 hours; 23 CDs. $60. Also available in hardcover from Doubleday. There have been other biographies of Richard Nixon, the only American president to resign from office. From what I’ve read, this new one by…