Written in short, digestible sections, this engaging and quirky book about the “invisible” elements of cities helps open our eyes to both the incredible ingenuities—and byzantine bureaucracies—that are a part of our urban communities.
Category: Book Reviews
In Surveillance State, Two Seasoned Journalists Examine China’s Watchful Eye
As unsettling as the best dystopian novels can be, none can compare with the real world horrors which plague the … More
The Big Nine Forecasts How Tech Titans Will Shape Our Future and Humanity
Neil Postman, the distinguished cultural critic who died in 2003, wrote prolifically on digital technology and its impact on culture … More
Folly, Hubris, and the American West — John Williams’ Butcher’s Crossing
Books, and particularly novels, possess such dynamic and interesting lives. Once written, a novel can become an unexpected best seller, … More
Unfulfilled Dreams and the Hollywood Facade — Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust
Tod Hackett, a fresh Yale art grad, is the first character we met in Nathanael West’s zany, wild, and thoroughly … More
Carson McCullers’ Southern Gothic Novella, The Ballad of the Sad Café
It was only about a month ago that I first heard the name Carson McCullers, the writer from the American … More
Looking for some different reads? Check out the Chawton House Library Series
Everyone knows of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, of Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskill, and George Eliot. Many also know … More
The Red Pony — Steinbeck’s Profound Novella Packed with Life Lessons for Every Age
The Red Pony, Steinbeck’s novella written during the 1930s, still finds its way into the hands of middle school students. … More
Review of The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel
My own experience of encountering, and then finally reading, John Williams’ great novel of 1965 is probably similar to that … More
Cup of Gold — Steinbeck’s Debut Novel about Happiness and Meaning
Set in the 17th century, the lonesome, perpetually dissatisfied protagonist of Cup of Gold is none other than Henry Morgan
An Early and Late Novella of Eliza Haywood — The Rash Resolve and Life’s Progress
There’s no shortage of female characters in 18th-century novels that have a rough go of it. But Emanuella, the protagonist … More
The Looking-Glass for the Mind: 18th-Century Didactic Stories for the Youthful Reader
Richard Johnson’s The Looking-Glass for the Mind (1787) — a free-spirited adaptation of Arnaud Berquin’s L’Ami des Enfans — is … More
An Unadorned Look at Life, Love and Marriage in Elizabeth Griffith’s The Delicate Distress
One of the distinct delights of great literature is that regardless of a work’s author, age, or original language readers … More
Rumor and Revelation — Eliza Haywood’s The Injur’d Husband
Shortly into the The Injur’d Husband, a minor character named Sanfsoy — chatty as can be — lets drop to … More
The Giddiness of Youth and Reality’s Brusque Introduction: Frances Brooke’s The Excursion
The star of Frances Brooke’s 1777 novel is Maria Villiers, a passionate go-getter who longs to experience life outside of … More
Charlotte Lennox’s Henrietta and Its Bold Eponymous Heroine
It’s a feat less visually dazzling than a tightrope walker slowly moving between two high-rise buildings, but Henrietta, the protagonist … More
Romance Novels as Reality — Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote
Arabella, the protagonist of Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote (1752), is not the adventurous, engaging, and larger-than-life figure that Don … More
A Gem of Goethe’s — Hermann and Dorothea
There are two major works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — the German polymath of the 18th and 19th centuries … More
A Succinct Introduction to the Homeric Epics — Barbara Graziosi’s Homer
Barbara Graziosi’s compact and to-the-point book, titled simply Homer, offers a smoothly written and reader-friendly introduction to a host of … More
The Strange and Wonderful Experience of Encountering the Kalevala
The Kalevala — Elias Lönnrot’s ambitious compilation of Finish stories published in the middle of the 19th century — is … More
All’s Well That Ends Well — Gil Polo’s Enamoured Diana
Ah, love. That indescribable feeling of warmth and bliss. Something that makes the heart beat faster than the wings of … More
Beautiful Landscapes, Tormented Lovers — Jacopo Sannazaro’s Arcadia
Published in 1504, Jacopo Sannazaro’s Arcadia had a long literary tradition behind it — well over 1,500 years — with … More
A Slice of Montemayor’s 16th-Century Diana — The Story of Belisa and Arsileus
With the multiplicity of stories that Jorge de Montemayor intricately weaves together in his 1559 Diana, it’s inevitable that readers … More
An Epic Under the Radar: Tasso’s Adventurous, Youthful, Love-Infused Rinaldo
Torquato Tasso, if his name rings any bells at all, is best known for his epic poem Jerusalem Delivered. Its … More
Review of The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer’s Odyssey
As readers of Edith Hall’s The Return of Ulysses will quickly become aware (if they are not already), there is … More
David Ferry’s new translation of the Aeneid
It’s amazing how reading a different translation of a piece of literature can almost instantly provide fresh thoughts as well … More
Review of The Golden Age of the Classics in America: Greece, Rome, and the Antebellum United States
Published just under a decade ago, many readers will find the contours and topics of this book to be more … More
Review of Catullus’ Bedspread: The Life of Rome’s Most Erotic Poet
By the end of the 1st century BC, the civil strife that had characterized the Roman world in previous decades … More
Review of Hannibal by Patrick Hunt
Even those who aren’t particularly familiar with ancient history know of Hannibal. It was Hannibal who crossed the Alps — … More
Review of Marathon: How One Battle Changed Western Civilization
The Battle of Marathon, fought in 490 BC, has just about everything you could want: an underdog against a powerful, … More
Yates’ The Art of Memory
After years of wanting to read Yates’ The Art of Memory but never getting down to it, I finally did … More
Review of Zero K
A few years ago I went through a relatively brief, but intense, phase of reading Don DeLillo’s novels. I think … More
Review of SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
As Mary Beard points out in her prologue to SPRQ: A History of Ancient Rome, there are so many vestiges … More
Spectatio 