Cucina Povera: The Italian Way of Transforming Humble Ingredients into Memorable Meals by Giulia Scarpaleggia

Artisan Review by Linda Lappin September 2023 marks a solemn occasion in Italy,  the 80th anniversary of the beginning  of the Nazi Occupation which devastated Tuscany from September 1943 until…

A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization by John Perlin

(Patagonia) Review by Brian Tanguay The first edition of John Perlin’s A Forest Journey was published in 1989. Its unique synthesis of history and science quickly marked it as a…

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(milkweed editions) Essay by Brian Tanguay This June and July were two of the hottest months ever recorded. Wildfires in Canada blanketed a swath of the United States in choking…

Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge, from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic by Simon Winchester

Harper Collins Review by Walter Cummins While Simon Winchester’s book is an entertaining read because he writes well and tells a good story, a more accurate title might be Knowing…

In Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey by Jeff Biggers

Melville House Review by Linda Lappin Sardinia’s landscapes captivate visitors: pink granite cliffs whipped into weird shapes,  massive  basalt boulders, tawny hills where tiny wild horses roam,  dunes of sparkling…

Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond

(Crown) Review by Brian Tanguay What Bryan Stevenson (author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative) is to racial inequality in the criminal justice system in America,…

Noir Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the World of Film Noir by Eddie Muller

Running Press Review by George Yatchisin Not every book can help you fill your Nick and Nora coupes and your evening’s film-watching playlist, but Noir Bar does both with elan.…

The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives by Jennifer Michael Hecht

Farrar, Straus & Giroux Review by George Yatchisin It’s not every self-helpish book that asks you to create your own poetry anthology, but The Wonder Paradox is sui generis. As…

The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century by Peniel E. Joseph

(Basic Books) Review by Brian Tanguay Like many Americans, I saw the election of Barack Obama in 2008 as a long awaited turning point in race relations in this country.…

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer

Riverhead Books Essay by Brian Tanguay This past February marked the fiftieth anniversary of the armed standoff between the US Marshall Service, FBI, and members of the American Indian Movement…