Category Archives: Biography

“In my life…”

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Linda

Paul O’Connor returns to Briar Patch Books with a review of a book published in the spring of 2016. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor PAUL MCCARTNEY: THE LIFE. By Philip Norman. Little, Brown and Company. 816 pages. $32. For those … Continue reading →

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History and mystery

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson JEFFERSON’S DAUGHTERS: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America. By Catherine Kerrison. Books on Tape (Penguin Random House Audio). Read by Tavia Gilbert. 17 hours; 14 CDs. Also available in print from Ballantine … Continue reading →

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Franklin Roosevelt, meeting the challenges

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: A Political Life. By Robert Dallek. Penguin Audio. Read by Rick Adamson. 30 hours; 24 CDs. $79. Also available in print from Viking. 704 pages, $40. Robert Dallek’s new book about Franklin … Continue reading →

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War, independence and family ties

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Linda

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE LOYAL SON: The War in Ben Franklin’s House. By Daniel Mark Epstein. Random House Audio. Read by Scott Brick. 16 ½ hours; 13 CDs. $60. Also available in hardback from Ballantine Books. Most of … Continue reading →

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At the intersection of nature and imagination

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Linda

It’s always a pleasure to have a review from Tom Dillon, who draws attention to books I might otherwise miss. Reviewed by Tom Dillon THE INVENTION OF NATURE: ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT’S NEW WORLD. By Andrea Wulf. Alfred A. Knopf. 473 pages. … Continue reading →

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What did the president know …

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Linda

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 … Continue reading →

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A most misunderstood president

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Linda

Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor HERBERT HOOVER: A LIFE. By Glen Jeansonne. Berkley. 464 pages. $28. Also available from Penguin Audio, read by Mark Deakins. 16 hours, 28 minutes. $29.95. Head west across Interstate 80 from Chicago, and you’ll come … Continue reading →

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Fighting Irish – a tale for our times

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Linda

Paul O’Connor reviews a new biography of a 19th-century immigrant who battled discrimination against himself even as he fought for freedom for those who were enslaved. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE IMMORTAL IRISHMAN. By Timothy Egan. Brilliance Audio. 14 hours, 9 … Continue reading →

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An uncommon friendship

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Linda

The Roosevelts, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War – these are fascinating topics of fairly recent history that have been dealt with extensively in books, movies and TV documentaries. Susan Quinn, coming at them from a different … Continue reading →

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Prepare to be charmed

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Linda

Also a big fan of Lee Smith, I reviewed this book earlier for the Greensboro News & Record: http://www.greensboro.com/go_triad/arts/books/review-dimestore-a-writer-s-life/article_f691fad4-cd46-5b96-9c54-3269b6c73c98.html Not to be outdone, Bob Moyer has reviewed it for Briar Patch Books. Such a fine book merits a lot of … Continue reading →

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