The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America by Christopher C. Gorham is extraordinary not because of the clarity of his writing or the obviously deep and meticulously footnoted research but simply because of the significance and impact of a woman unfairly forgotten today. Anna Rosenberg was …
Continue reading Anna Rosenberg: giving credit where credit is overdue
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is a 2025 long-listed Booker novel (really more of a novella) suffused with the gray and misty atmosphere of a British seaside village in the early 1960s, animated by fascinating characters, and enriched by the interiority of the protagonist. Thomas Flett, barely 20 years, lives with his 36-year-old mother, Lillian, in …
Continue reading A short novel, long on atmosphere, characters and narrative
Whistler by Ann Patchett is another confirmation of the author’s elegant writing style, her adroitness at weaving narrative threads into a compelling tapestry, and acuity in probing the complexity of human character and emotion. Her stunning use of metaphors and incisive imagery lasts long after the last chapter has ended. It is a gentle story. …
Continue reading Patchett’s newest book: love, loss and identity
Absolutely on Music: Conversations is a gift to classical music lovers and a perfect book to read as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, having successfully resolved its contract negotiations, prepares to start its 146th season. The book comprises the recordings of a series of conversations between late BSO music director Seiji Ozawa and best-selling Japanese fiction …
Continue reading A stunning Japanese fiction writer talked music with brilliant maestro Seiji Ozawa
The late Barney Frank’s book, The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy, to be published September 15 by Yale University Press, is a valedictory the former Massachusetts Fourth District Congressman wrote during the last year of his life. In a sweeping broadside peppered with astute observations, he describes …
Kin by Tayari Jones is set in the 1950’s and is as rich as the soil of the Deep South. It is a welcome follow-up to her earlier novel An American Marriage, which dug deeply into “living while black” and maturing in marriage. Kin focuses on two friends, Niecy and Annie, both of whom grew …
Continue reading The families we choose – and what they mean
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang is a family history and autobiography of three generations of a Chinese family, spanning most of the 20th century in China. Published in 1991, the 650-page tome hadn’t come to my attention until recently. I delved in and found it fascinating. Released just after the collapse …
Continue reading A penetrating personal account of the brutalities of 20th century Chinese communism
Years ago, when Martha Raddatz was Martha Bradlee, we were colleagues at WCVB-TV, Channel 5 in Boston — she in the newsroom chasing stories, I in the editorial department, commenting on the news from a safe distance. Millions now know her as chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News: the intrepid reporter embedded in the …
Continue reading Respect and Remember: A journalist’s commitment to those who serve
Bay State Democrats have arranged themselves in a circular firing squad, leaving voters to choose between a senator who is old (80) but effective, or a congressman who is younger (47)– and gratuitously snide. Monday night's televised debate between incumbent Senator Ed Markey and 6th District Congressman Seth Moulton was a contentious, unpleasant exchange that …
More than six months ago, I wrote about a highly qualified but largely unknown candidate who had given up a secure career to undertake what looked like a quixotic campaign. David Solet had spent 24 years as a prosecutor, most recently as chief of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Cold Case Homicide Unit. He had been …
Continue reading From “David Who?” to a Solet Choice for Middlesex District Attorney
