“The H Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness” by Jill Filipovic

In “The H Spot,” Jill Filipovic focuses on the (not very) complex problem of “What do women want?” Combining personal anecdotes with a review of the available research and interviews with a diverse group of women on their lives and what would make them better, Filipovic provides an engaging and compelling examination of the feminist […]

“All Over the Place” by Geraldine DeRuiter

“All Over the Place” is a travel book, except that the travel is at least as much internal as it is external. Geraldine DeRuiter has transformed her popular blog, The Everywhereist, into a book that chronicles her trajectory from unemployment to travel blogger to brain-tumor-survivor to someone who’s come to understand her family, her marriage, […]

“The Hedgehog and the Fox” by Isaiah Berlin

As with “War and Peace,” I feel a bit silly writing a review of such a classic work of literature and scholarship, but since I read it, by golly, I’m going to get a review out of it. Berlin begins by arguing that there are two general classes of thinkers and artists: foxes (e.g., Pushkin, […]

“A Small Corner of Hell” by Anna Politkovskaya

In “A Small Corner of Hell,” Anna Politkovskaya continues her reportage of the Second Chechen War. While “A Dirty War,” the first collection of her articles, conveys them in more or less their original form, “A Small Corner of Hell,” while still divided into individual reports, is a more coherent, book-like narrative, with large sections […]

“A Dirty War” by Anna Politkovskaya

Anyone tempted to say that heroes no longer exist need look no further than opposition Russian journalists to be proven wrong. Although there are many heroes and martyrs amongst that group, the name Anna Politkovskaya is particularly sacred. A furious truth-teller, Politkovskay always had the courage of her convictions, descending into chaos, corruption, and the […]

“Invisible Armies” by Max Boot

Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present A compelling survey of irregular warfare from the pre-Christian era to the present, “Invisible Armies” covers both guerrilla fighting, which Boot calls “the oldest form of warfare,” and terrorism, which he considers “strikingly modern.” While exhaustively researched, this is not a […]

“Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalitis” by Dr. Sarah Myhill

Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalitis Second Edition: it’s mitochondria, not hypochondria Anyone who has every had a mysterious or chronic illness probably knows that there are some things that modern Western medicine doesn’t handle very well. If you have the misfortune to suffer from some aspect of the FM/CFS/ME family, […]

“I Am a Chechen!” by German Sadulaev

I Am a Chechen! In “I am a Chechen!” German Sadulaev pulls together a set of stories, based heavily on his own biographical experiences, about the Chechen conflicts. Fragmentary, lyrical, in turns desperate and magical, and often non-linear, this collection follows in the tradition of Russian writers such as Lermontov and Babel, taking bare biography […]

Stacking the Shelves!

This is something I just found out about, started by Tynga’s Reviews. You get to list books you’ve acquired with the intention of reading. Gulp! I try not to think too hard about my TBR list, but actually at the moment it’s not too bad. So here are some books I’m planning to read soon, or […]

“A Random Walk Down Wall Street” by Burton G. Malkiel

A Random Walk down Wall Street: The Time-tested Strategy for Successful Investing Do you want to get rich quickly? Then this is not the book for you! But if you really do want to get rich, albeit slowly, then this book has plenty of useful information. In “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” Burton Malkiel […]

E. P. Clark: Author, Book Reviewer, and All-Around Literary Handiwoman

Non-Fiction