Briar Patch Books

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  • Overcoming great odds

    World War II continues to be an endlessly fascinating subject for those who love history. Paul O’Connor takes a look at a new book about the last major Nazi offensive. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor ARDENNES 1944, THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, By Anthony Beevor. Penguin Audio. Read by Sean Barrett. 14 hours, 35 minutes.…

  • Why the Constitution lives

    Paul O’Connor reviews a book of history that, as is often the case, is relevant to today’s political debates. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor THE QUARTET: ORCHESTRATING THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1783-1789. By Joseph J. Ellis. Read by Robertson Dean. Random House Audio. Nine hours and 20 minutes. $35. Also available in hardcover from Knopf.…

  • Crime and politics in Scotland

    It’s always a pleasure to read a book review by Tom Dillon. He reads such interesting books. This time, he’s enjoying a bit of detective fiction, but as you might expect, it’s a bit more complicated than shoot-’em-up and whodunit. SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE. By Ian Rankin. Little, Brown and Co. 389 pages. $26…

  • Going downhill

    One night, many years ago, I saw Tom Dillon ski down Summit Street in Winston-Salem. So when he asked to review a book about skiing and snow, I wasn’t surprised. As he points out, this book has some important things to say even to the non-skiers among us. Reviewed by Tom Dillon DEEP: THE STORY…

  • Crime, Barcelona style

    What a happy thing it is to be in on the debut of a good detective series. This one’s set in Barcelona, so it offers the added attraction of virtually visiting an exotic foreign setting. Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson THE SUMMER OF DEAD TOYS. By Antonio Hill. Read by Mark Bramhall. Books on Tape.…

  • For your listening pleasure – Stephanie Plum

    I listen to audio books for a lot of reasons. Listening to someone read a book is convenient and entertaining, because I spend a lot of time in the car, driving alone. I find that I’ll listen to serious nonfiction and other heavy-duty books that I might not tackle if I had to sit down…

  • Picture this

    Bob Moyer took a break from his travels long enough to send another review. I think he had as much fun writing this review as he did reading the book. That’s good for us, because we can read both the review and the book. By Robert Moyer BEAUTIFUL RUINS. Jess Walter. HarperCollins. 352 pages. $25.…

  • A comedy with not a single laugh

    Our roving correspondent, Bob Moyer, takes a look at a 1947 novel by a German Jew. The book was translated into English in 2010. This novel travels some of the same territory as Anne Frank’s famous diary, but from very different perspectives. By Robert Moyer COMEDY IN A MINOR KEY. By Hans Keilson. Farrar Straus…

  • 9/11, Ten years later

    As the United States approaches the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that shocked our nation and sent us to war, Paul O’Connor reviews a new book that tells the “full story.” By Paul T. O’Connor THE ELEVENTH DAY: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden, by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan.…

  • So much information

    Steve Wishnevsky has tackled a big book about a big subject and come away almost – but fortunately not quite – at a loss for words to describe it. By Stephen Wishnevsky THE INFORMATION: A HISTORY, A THEORY, A FLOOD. By James  Gleick. Pantheon Books. 544 pages. $29.95. This is quite the ambitious attempt, to…