One of the many astonishing things that Richard Rhodes does in The Making of the Atomic Bomb is to match the tone and pace of each of the major sections to their theme. It’s common enough in good novels, but uncommon in non-fiction, and vanishingly rare in a non-fiction work of this size and scope. …
Category: History
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/26/the-making-of-the-atomic-bomb-by-richard-rhodes-pt-3/
Jun 10 2024
Stamped From The Beginning: A Graphic History Of Racist Ideas In America by Ibram X. Kendi & Joel Christian Gill
I do not have time to read all the books I want to, so when I was offered the graphic history adaptation of Ibram X Kendi’s award-winning Stamped From The Beginning, I absolutely jumped at the chance. Graphic novels and non-fiction are usually a much faster read for me than plain text, and I really …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/10/stamped-from-the-beginning-a-graphic-history-of-racist-ideas-in-america-by-ibram-x-kendi-joel-christian-gill/
May 12 2024
The Cold War by John Lewis Gaddis
Some twenty years after publication, The Cold War no longer matches its subtitle, “A New History,” but it remains a useful book about the conflict that shaped international politics for nearly half a century and, not incidentally, came close to ending human civilization. It is useful in a number of ways. First of all, it …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/05/12/the-cold-war-by-john-lewis-gaddis/
May 09 2024
Enemy Child by Andrea Warren
subtitled The Story Of Norman Mineta, A Boy Imprisoned In A Japanese American Internment Camp During World War II. Many Americans will know of Norman Mineta as a trailblazing Japanese American politician, a moderate Democrat who served in both Democratic and Republican cabinets. He always resisted having any books written about his life until he …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/05/09/enemy-child-by-andrea-warren/
Apr 29 2024
Witch Hunt by Andrea Balis & Elizabeth Levy, illustrated by Tim Foley
subtitled The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare. Ever since the end of the Second World War, the word “communism” has been used as a bogeyman for the average American, and is often the default label for any behavior that threatens a selfish sense of privilege. Why explain why you don’t like something …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/04/29/witch-hunt-by-andrea-balis-elizabeth-levy-illustrated-by-tim-foley/
Apr 12 2024
Nazi Hunting: A Love Story by Jess McHugh
What a timely short read for these ages! I’m so glad I had to chance to pick this up, to be reminded that fighting fascism isn’t just about wars and polls, but is an ongoing, everyday, and very necessary struggle. Serge Klarsfeld and Beate Kunzel met in Paris in 1960. The young adults — he …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/04/12/nazi-hunting-a-love-story-by-jess-mchugh/
Feb 11 2024
The Road by Vasily Grossman
Vasily Grossman is one of the great writers of the twentieth century, and The Road is a very good place to start reading his work. Born in the Ukrainian city of Berdychiv when it was part of the Russian Empire, Grossman experienced the Bolshevik Revolution and the ensuing civil war as a teen. He began …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/02/11/the-road-by-vasily-grossman/
Dec 30 2023
The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power
Samantha Power was a writer before she went into public service. And even though she’s been America’s ambassador to the United Nations, and is now serving as the chief of the US Agency for International Development, it’s possible — maybe even probable — that she’s a better writer than anything else. Which means that even after …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/12/30/the-education-of-an-idealist-by-samantha-power/
Dec 08 2023
The Story Of Hanukkah by David A. Adler & Jill Weber
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! I am so pleased to have a whole slew of Hanukkah-themed books to review for the week, tho I gotta say that it is sometimes really weird talking about books centered on religion when you’re as quasi-religious as I am. I decided to start this slate with the most …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/12/08/the-story-of-hanukkah-by-david-a-adler-jill-weber/
Dec 05 2023
Every Other Weekend: Coming of Age With Two Different Dads by Anthony Mohr (EXCERPT)
Hi readers! Here we have a different kind of autobiography, as an author chronicles what it felt like to grow up with two very different men, switching between father and stepfather every weekend. As his credit card industry pioneer stepfather’s career rises and his well-known radio actor biological father’s eases downward, author Anthony J. Mohr …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/12/05/every-other-weekend-coming-of-age-with-two-different-dads-by-anthony-mohr-excerpt/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire