Bunker Hill: A Siege, A City, A Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick is the perfect book to top off the nation’s 250th birthday year. Having spent most of my life in Massachusetts, having driven or walked through most of the places that Philbrick recreates, I didn’t think I’d have much to learn about the nation’s early …
Category: reading list
Anna Rosenberg: giving credit where credit is overdue
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 …
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A short novel, long on atmosphere, characters and narrative
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
A stunning Japanese fiction writer talked music with brilliant maestro Seiji Ozawa
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 …
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Barney Frank: his final last word
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 …
The families we choose – and what they mean
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 …
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A penetrating personal account of the brutalities of 20th century Chinese communism
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 …
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Epic tale of caste and class in Pakistan
Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin, is a totally captivating novel starting in 1950’s Pakistan, colored by the caste system that frames the past, present and even future for its people. The backdrop is the turbulence following Partition, the 1947 separation of Pakistan from India. The story continues through 2013. In a gripping beginning, …
Iran: a tale of arrogance, self-delusion and unforced blunders
King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson is a spellbinding journalistic revelation of the innermost thinking and maneuvering of key players in Iran and the United States leading up to the 1979 American Embassy seizure of hostages that would change the course of world events. …
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Making Art in the Nazi Era?
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann is a challenging but intriguing work of fiction. Its surreal and expressionistic style focuses on its characters’ dreamlike experiences and emotional journeys. These stylistic elements mix with realism as the narrative develops, prompting this reader to appreciate the author’s stunning talent and creativity. This historical novel is based mostly on …
