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Pretty good. Zweig is at his best when describing a scene and conveying the atmosphere of the times. Characterization, well, not so much.

Unbelievable. The stories of a handful of defectors from North Korea: the weirdest, scariest place on Earth.

My wife Beth introduced me to this dark and deeply affecting novel liberally laced with comic relief. The writing voice is quite unique as well. Plus some bonus nostalgia for anyone who has spent a lot of time in Davis, CA. Highly recommended.

The writing in this biography is not always engaging, but the raw facts of the matter more than makes up for that. The story of this remarkable woman, a Polish Jew who spied for Britain during WWII, has to be read to be believed.

This is the second book by Hecht I have thoroughly enjoyed. This one traces the history of religious doubt through the ages.

Really enjoyed this short novel about some folks doing their best to get by as barge dwellers on the Thames in post-WW2 London. A great example of why good stories don’t have to have much in the way of a plot.

A pretty good but not great book about the recent(ish) history of money, finance, and financial crises and what we should do about them. The author never delves very deeply into the details of macroeconomics and that lack of rigor shows towards the end, particular when it comes to his prescriptions about what is to be done. They sounds nice enough, but one wants a bit more detail in their justification.

Wow. This biographical series about LBJ has been on my to-read list for a long time. I’m glad I finally got around to starting it. Highly recommended!

An overview of Paine’s life and work with a focus on his most important book. Hitchens sure loved to drop historical names and references as he showed off his book-larnin’, but he did it so well you can only nod in appreciation.

Gothic horror set in late 18th-century Revolutionary America. The language is baroque and the plot contrivances are unbelievable. I enjoyed the hell out of it.