Book Reviews | Atlantic County Library System

A Widow Discovers That Her Marriage Wasn't 'Monogamy'

NPR Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 12:34pm

As the central character struggles with grief and shock at her late husband's infidelity, author Sue Miller keeps deftly shifting what readers might anticipate to be the ending of this novel.

(Image credit: HarperCollins)

‘Agent Sonya,’ by Ben Macintyre: An Excerpt

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 10:00am

An excerpt from “Agent Sonya,” by Ben Macintyre

‘The Abstainer,’ by Ian McGuire: An Excerpt

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 9:50am

An excerpt from “The Abstainer,” by Ian McGuire

The Best Post Office Novel You Will Read Before the Election

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

Vigdis Hjorth’s “Long Live the Post Horn!” follows a 35-year-old woman through an identity crisis — and a campaign in support of postal workers.

Why Government Is Failing the People It Is Supposed to Serve

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

“The Wake-Up Call,” by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, criticizes the performance of Western governments and suggests ways to improve it.

The Future of Energy

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

Daniel Yergin’s “The New Map” is a comprehensive look at the world of energy, its past, present and future.

The Bumbling 1960s Data Scientists Who Anticipated Facebook and Google

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

In “If Then,” the historian Jill Lepore recounts the story of the Simulmatics Corporation, which tried to use primitive computing power to shape Americans’ behavior.

The Rebel, the Policeman and a Chase Through Britain and Beyond

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

Ian McGuire’s historical novel “The Abstainer” pits an Irish separatist against a police constable in 19th-century England.

A Separate and Unequal System of College Admissions

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

“Who Gets In and Why” and “Unacceptable” detail how admissions is rigged in favor of the privileged and how it was gamed even further.

In Memoirs, Two Reporters Plumb Their Latina Identity and Heritage

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

Ilia Calderón (“My Time to Speak”) and Maria Hinojosa (“Once I Was You”) tell different stories with a common theme: the need for a deeper, more nuanced conversation about race.

How a Million Refugees Became Postwar Pawns of the Allies

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

David Nasaw’s “The Last Million” tells the painful story of displaced persons after World War II who had nowhere to go.

What’s Wrong With the Meritocracy

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

Michael J. Sandel’s “The Tyranny of Merit” examines the damage our current meritocratic system is doing to the country.

One of the Most Perilous Jobs in Government

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

As Chris Whipple shows in “The Spymasters,” the heads of the Central Intelligence Agency have often been more beleaguered than omnipotent.

What It Means to Be the ‘Token’ Black Kid in a Rich, White World

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

In “Greyboy,” Cole Brown recounts the lives of privileged outsiders, himself among them.

New & Noteworthy Audiobooks, From Dan Rather to Black Lives Matter

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

A selection of recent audiobooks of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.

Matthew Yglesias Thinks There Should Be ‘One Billion Americans’

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

In his new book, the journalist and co-founder of Vox argues that dramatic population growth could revitalize the nation.

Michael Ian Black Has Some Wisdom for His Son (and Maybe for Yours)

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 5:00am

In “A Better Man,” the comedian proposes a sincere vision for modern masculinity.

The Housewife Who Was a Spy

NY Times Book Reviews - Tue, 09/15/2020 - 12:00am

Ben Macintyre’s “Agent Sonya” recounts the story of a woman who passed along atomic secrets when she wasn’t raising her family in the Cotswolds.

An Unflinching Child’s-Eye View of Sexual Abuse

NY Times Book Reviews - Mon, 09/14/2020 - 1:26pm

The 10-year-old narrator of Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s “Fighting Words” eases her way into sharing the awful truth of what she and her sister survived.

In Jorie Graham’s Poetry, the End of Days and the Pleasures of the Flow

NY Times Book Reviews - Mon, 09/14/2020 - 11:46am

“Runaway,” Graham’s 15th collection, considers the apocalypse, beautifully.

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