Category: Politics

  • A recipe for trouble

    Paul O’Connor takes a look at a memoir from someone who’s seen in person how Vladimir Putin operates and what he’s trying to achieve. The author puts what’s happening in the U.S. now into troubling perspective.. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor. MIDNIGHT IN MOSCOW: A MEMOIR FROM THE FRONT LINES OF RUSSIA’S WAR AGAINST THE…

  • 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…