Books | Book Reviews
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Wagner wrote stunning operas. His political views have a tangled history.“The Ring” exudes dramatic power. Author Michael Downes tackles the controversies, while keeping the music front and center. -
Seals have rebounded. Not everyone loves them.A number of seal species have been pulled back from near-extinction. But the animals are being blamed for attracting sharks to beaches and decimating fish stocks.
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Bruuuce! The story behind the rock-star power of Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run.’In 1975, Bruce Springsteen was about to be dropped by his record label. But the album “Born to Run” changed everything – for him and for rock. -
Art theft or reclamation? A mystery of epic proportions.In “The Great Chinese Art Heist,” Ralph Pezzullo links a string of recent robberies with misdeeds of the colonial past.
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The day that Unite the Right marched in CharlottesvilleJournalist Deborah Baker follows the trail of far-right agitators, city officials, and church leaders in ”Charlottesville: An American Story.” -
Cool midsummer reads to help you get by in JulyThe Monitor’s 10 best books for July take you on a spin through humor, history, true crime, and nature. -
Test your killer instincts: Here are 4 summer mysteries to solveA cavalcade of crime stoppers is hot on the trail of murderers and miscreants in this quartet of entertaining mystery novels. -
Charity begins at home for a privileged family in ‘The Greatest Possible Good’Ben Brooks pokes gentle fun at a wealthy do-gooder and his materialistic family in this morality tale that asks: How far would you go to help others? -
4 picture books that roar with stories of courage and friendshipEven the smallest among us can lead change. That’s the message of this charming quartet of children’s picture books. -
The vanilla orchid gave up its secrets to an enslaved Black botanist“The Rarest Fruit” depicts how Edmond Albius, a 19th-century Black wunderkind, solved a pollination puzzle. -
Dip into the pool of the 10 best books of JuneThe 10 best books of June are perfect for al fresco reading, whether hammock, park bench, or beach blanket. -
A burned-out nature writer gets a radical reset breeding ducksBeloved author James Rebanks takes a hiatus from his farm in the Lake District for a sojourn on a far-flung island among the “duck women.” -
The man who helped shape the modern Republican Party – before TrumpColumnist William F. Buckley Jr. articulated a vision of American conservatism that guided politicians from Goldwater to Nixon to Reagan. -
Democratic ideals and the rule of law have persisted across nations and erasAmitav Acharya’s “The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West” examines roots of self-government.
Monitor's Best: Top 5
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As Trump’s approval ratings fall, Democrats are doing even worse. Why? -
With DC crackdown, Trump reorients balance of power between city, feds -
US-Pakistan relations are the best they’ve been in decades. Pakistanis aren’t thrilled. -
After years of sluggish enlistments, the US military gets a surge of recruits
