James Ellroy's 'Perfidia'

James Ellroy in Nighttown

Perfidia is a twisted labyrinth of plot and counterplot, casual racism, murder most bloody and foul, and hypnotic prose, with real-life big names passing through or nudging the story along.

Bob Ingram

Nov 01, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

Lev Grossman's 'Magician's Land'

Finding the magic in adult life

Grossman is successful in providing a contemporary alternative to the fantasy paradigm, engaging the reader’s material reality with his multiple layers of fantasy more effectively than the single-layer fantasy novels of Rowling, Lewis, or Tolkien before him.

Nicholas Silcox

Oct 19, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

Laurence Bergreen's 'Columbus: The Four Voyages'

A critical look at a mythic figure

Christopher Columbus isn’t revered as he once was. Laurence Bergreen presents a critical assessment of a man who is fascinating despite his great flaws.

Steve Cohen

Oct 13, 2014 · Articles · 5 minute read

'The Nixon Defense' by John Dean

Barbarians at the Watergate: John Dean and the new Nixon tapes

John Dean is back with a fresh look at the quintessential political scandal.

Mark Wolverton

Aug 23, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

Ten great books about World War I

The war to end all wars

There have been more books about World War I than any other world conflict — and some mighty fine books, too. Here is my list of ten favorites that should whet your appetite.

Armen Pandola

Aug 23, 2014 · Articles · 5 minute read

Chuck Palahniuk's planned 'Fight Club' sequel

I know this because Tyler knows this: ‘Fight Club’ doesn’t need a sequel

Fight Club allegorized Generation X’s bone-deep dissatisfaction with ourselves. We never thought we’d buy into the Ikea lifestyle, but we have, hook, line, and sinker.

Paula Berman

Aug 19, 2014 · Articles · 5 minute read

Allen Ginsberg, 'Selected Poems'

Best of the Beats

It is fashionable and therefore easy to appreciate "Howl," but this volume, however inconsistent, is filled with gems that belong in the western canon.

Michael Lawrence

Jul 27, 2014 · Articles · 3 minute read

Paul Auster’s ‘Report from the Interior’

Is autobiography actually possible?

Paul Auster’s new volume of memoirs raises the question of whether one can know one’s own self — and whether there is actually a self to be known.

Robert Zaller

Jun 30, 2014 · Articles · 5 minute read

Kevin Birmingham and Maya Lang at the Free Library

Celebrating Bloomsday and all things 'Ulysses'

Two authors and the most conflicted fans in literature celebrate James Joyce's Ulysses.

John Simons

Jun 30, 2014 · Articles · 3 minute read

Linda Brendle's 'Long and Winding Road'

When reality is more inspiring than "reality"

Everyone seems to write a memoir these days, and the authors are often famous entertainers or the survivors of a well-publicized crisis. Linda Brendle is an “ordinary” person, which is part of the reason her book resonates so deeply.

Maria Thompson Corley

Jun 29, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read