Book Reviews

Cristina Nehring on What’s Wrong With the American Essay

Cristina Nehring / Truthdig Nov 30, 2007 One of our most trenchant critics takes a withering look at how contemporary essayists in a global world have gone increasingly, foolishly, local. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

John Mack Faragher on the ‘Hard Road West’

John Mack Faragher / Truthdig Nov 23, 2007 One of the most gifted historians of the American West takes a close look at the remarkable tale of triumph and tragedy that Keith Meldahl recounts in his dramatic story of the largest overland migration since the Crusades, as well as the equally compelling epic of the geology of the harsh and sublime Western landscape. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Nicholas von Hoffman on ‘The Conscience of a Liberal’

Nicholas von Hoffman / Truthdig Nov 16, 2007 Why is it that so many voters continue to elect reactionaries who do their best to disenfranchise them? The answer, says Paul Krugman in his new book, is racism. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Mark Sarvas on ‘The Hot Zone’

Mark Sarvas / Truthdig Nov 9, 2007 As the first Internet reporter for Yahoo News, Kevin Sites spent a year of living dangerously covering 20 wars all over the world. Is Web journalism the wave of the future? Mark Sarvas, a pioneer of literary blogging, takes a close look. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Todd Gitlin on ‘The Terror Dream’

Todd Gitlin / Truthdig Nov 2, 2007 Was the Bush administration's fevered response to 9/11 made easier by primal American myths of victimization and fear, as Susan Faludi argues in her provocative new book? Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Chalmers Johnson on America’s Forgotten War

Chalmers Johnson / Truthdig Oct 26, 2007 The best-selling author of "The Sorrows of Empire" takes a look at David Halberstam's critical history of the Korean War. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

Jason Epstein on the Nuclear Threat

Jason Epstein / Truthdig Oct 19, 2007 Two new books by Richard Rhodes and Jonathan Schell paint a disturbing portrait of an era whose Dr. Strangeloves are still practicing their black art. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Marc Cooper on Hugo Chavez

Marc Cooper / Truthdig Oct 12, 2007 A former translator for Chile's Salvador Allende reviews three books evaluating the remarkable rise of Venezuela's irrepressible Hugo Chavez. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Milton Viorst on ‘The Israel Lobby’

Milton Viorst / Truthdig Oct 5, 2007 Longtime journalist and Middle East expert Milton Viorst examines John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt's controversial new book about the Israel lobby and its influence on American foreign policy. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

Chris Hedges on Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Sep 19, 2007 In his book "Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia," John Gray warns that as the era of liberal intervention in international affairs wanes, it is being replaced with "primitive versions of religion" that will be used to fuel apocalyptic violence. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

John Dean Lauds ‘Playing President’

Staff / Truthdig Jul 29, 2006 In a thoughtful review, the former presidential counselor and bestselling author writes about Robert Scheer's new book: "If anyone has more succinctly stated and summarized the folly we call presidential campaigns, I am not aware of it -- and I read widely about the subject." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )