Reviewing a single novel by Murakami without discussing his other works is like trying to walk up a steep embankment of newly cut grass after a summer rain in bowling shoes. It’s difficult to keep from slipping. Plot details and character delineation from one tale …
The success of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm assured a man-made torrent of books in the suddenly lucrative “Man versus Nature, Nature Slams Man” genre. But, as Todd Balf’s new book shows, just because a work follows an industry …
Giles Milton’s well-researched history provides an in-depth study of the battle between European nations – particularly the English and the Dutch – for access to and control of the East Indies spice trade. In reading Nathaniel’s Nutmeg, I only had two quibbles. First, the story …