March 2012 | Hanover Evening Sun

When Prophecy Still Had a Voice: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Robert Lax Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Voila, the compacted dithers of mutton & larks! Ecco, predicted lathers of metro & lux! Lo, the monastic matters of mirrors & lakes! Zounds, the hermetic spiels of motor & locks! Behold, the gathered deepistles of monachus & littera! Witness the mighty phrasings of miracle lustrum!...

The Line of Beauty Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)The effusive press comments quoted on the cover and flyleaf of the paperback edition of Alan Hollinghurst's THE LINE OF BEAUTY are totally correct in everything they actually say; they merely fail to mention one of the most important aspects of the book. Hollinghurst writes brilliantly about life among...

The Gods of Egypt Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)I have always considered Traunecker's work to be of the highest quality. He has an insight into the mechanics of ancient Egyptian cosmologies, theologies, and mythologies that is both direct and free of unnecessary random (and rambling) thought. His assessments are clinical but always interesting, and...

World Made by Hand: A Novel Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)It's really good. Surprisingly so, given that most attempts at novelisation by people who are basically pundits on an educational/propaganda mission to save the world are dismal artistic failures. But this novel is good, the guy can actually write.It's a realistic depiction of the post-collapse USA....

God's Lions: The Secret Chapel Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)I have never read a roller coaster thriller like this before. Well researched and masterfully woven, this novel by John Lyman will glue you to your seat then have you hanging on with your fingernails as you take that unexpected hairpin turn. The struggle between good and evil is not contrived as in many...

First Lady Florence Harding: Behind the Tragedy and Controversy (Modern First Ladies) Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Professor Sibley claims that "this book is the first to offer a full treatment of Florence as first lady, rather than as a supporting actress in a drama of scandalous dealings, womanizing, and illicit booze." (page 2), but is incorrect on two counts. First, historian Carl Anthony has already done a masterful...

The Fifth Skull: A Historical Novel of the Civil War and the American West Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)There is only one problem with Terrell Garren's writing. You can't stop reading them once you start! This book as with all Mr. Garren's work appeals to me as I live in the same area as my forebearers who served in the War Between the States and their unit is refered to in this work. I also had a WBTS...

Doctor Zhivago Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)And see the revolution of the timesMake mountains level, and the continent,Weary of solid firmness,--melt itself Into the sea! "King Henry IV, Part 2, Act III. Scene IBoris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago takes us back to a time when fate took Russia through a perfect storm of revolution, war, revolution, and...

The Making of an Ink-Stained Wretch: Half a Century Pounding the Political Beat Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)If you are a fan of Timothy Crouse's Boys on the Bus; or you read Witcover and Germond's Presidential election analyses; or you followed their column (and later just his), then this book will be a blast. Highly insightful and full of great anecdotes (and several practical jokes), I thoroughly enjoyed...

Olympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Just as no one would try to understand the American character without learning about George Washington, it's impossible to understand the Greek character without knowing something of Ulysses.Lundberg adds a third factor, a wife who was born in Greece where he served after graduating from the US Air Force...

Absurdistan: A Novel Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Sometimes the 2nd novel is a let-down. ABSURDISTAN follows a debut, THE RUSSIAN DEBUTANTE'S HANDBOOK that is frankly, hard to top. Shteyngart has done it. ABSURDISTAN is the story of Misha Vainberg aka "Snack Daddy." The son of a Jewish Russian Gangster, "Snack" got an education at a ritzy private American...

Evolutionary Architecture: Nature as a Basis for Design Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Eugene Tsui has added another gospel to his bible for evolutionary architecture. What can't be captured in merely addressing his architecture is the clarity, force and intelligence of his writing. In addition to being one of the few architects who can write coherently, Eugene Tsui has a unique, compelling...

The Best American Short Stories of the Century Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)One of the things I have always liked about Updike is that he is willing to undertake something like this--even though it will inevitably make him vulnerable to criticisms like the ones raised in other reviews here. I can see why some omissions rankle: but, but BUT! Look at what's here! Almost all of...

What the Trout Said Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Forget the huge, illustrated books with thousands of color plates, the long historical tracts, and the mind-numbing quasi-scientific inquiries into trout, their diets and their feeding patterns. In one short book, Proper has distilled all the wisdom of the great fly tiers and added his own insights into...

Portobello: A Novel Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)I imported Portobello from the UK in an excess of impatience to read the new Rendell, and I am thrilled to report it is horrific, claustrophobic, and yes, droll in turns. Rendell's genius still burns brightly, her sharp edge is unblunted, and we readers may rejoice, while compulsively turning the pages...

Living Lies Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)This was such an enjoyable book....once I started reading, it was hard to put it down. It touches all of the elements such as mystery, suspense, humor, romance....you end up falling in love with Agent Melanie Ward. Kate Mathis did an excellent job making the reader feel like they were really a part of...

Brida: A Novel Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I have always enjoyed this author's works, but this was awful. He should stick to writing what he knows, obviously it is not the concepts of Wicca. It is a very misleading book for people who might think they are actually being taught something about Wicca...