The Street Sweeper reminds me, organizationally, of looking at the back of a piece of embroidery. There are plots and story-lines running everywhere, and at first it feels chaotic. However, by the end, you are looking in awe at a beautifully-finished piece of story-telling. This is an awesome book, well worth the time commitment required…
Category Archives: History
Stasiland, a 5-Star Read
When I was a child in the 70s, I used to sometimes lie awake at night and worry about the Communists. All the stories I’d heard terrified me, and I had nightmares about my parents being shot by them; why exactly was unclear. When the Berlin Wall fell, I was amazed. It seemed to have…
We Meant Well
Peter Van Buren is a State Department Foreign Service officer who was sent to Iraq for one year as part of the plan to reconstruct the country, to “win the hearts and minds” of the people by helping reinstate such basic necessities as clean water, electricity, garbage pick-up, and other elements of civilization. What he…
Turn Right at Machu Picchu
One hundred years ago on July 24, 1911, explorer and Yale lecturer Hiram Bingham excitedly cabled the US from Peru about his discovery of an ancient site, potentially the “lost city of the Incas.” That site was Machu Picchu, or “the old peak” in the local language of Quechua, a city of architectural grandeur and…
Unbroken
Louie Zamperini was a bit of a scoundrel as a kid. An accomplished neighborhood thief, he would “run like mad” while shopkeepers chased after him. His running skills earned him a trip to the 1936 Olympics where he didn’t medal but garnered the attention of Adolf Hitler. Several years later he found himself in the…
The Storm of War
When my son Elliot was about 8, he developed a great interest in history, one that shows no sign of waning. I remember him admiring his father’s photographs at an exhibition when he was about 11. “You know, Dad, when your photos are on the walls at home, I don’t really notice them. But here,…
The Notes: A Kirkus Review (Ronald Reagan’s Collection of Wisdom)
I was a child in the eighties, so I didn’t pay too much attention to politics. As an adult, I am much more interested in current and past events. Recently, I had the opportunity to read The Notes: Ronald Reagan’s Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom. This book is a fascinating snapshot of the man…
Treasures from the Attic: The Extraordinary Story of Anne Frank’s Family
The product description says it best: An old lady, an antiques dealer, dies in Basel, Switzerland. Her devoted daughter-in-law finally steels herself to do what all families must in the aftermath of a death – she heads upstairs to the attic to sort through the old lady’s effects. But this wasn’t just any old lady,…
-
Jennifer Donovan
Managing Editor
MEET OUR TEAM
-
-
-
-
-
Find out about our relationships with publishers and affiliate networks in our full disclosure statement.
