Category Archives: book reviews

I’m in the latest issue of Dissent!

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

The Spring, 2013 issue of Dissent Magazine is here in all its glory and it contains my book review The Right and Labor in America Politics, Ideology, and Imagination, by Nelson Lichtenstein and Elizabeth Tandy Shermer. (It’s a loosely connected … Continue reading →

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In Which I’m Finally Paid To Write About P.G. Wodehouse

Posted on January 15, 2013 by

Well, its finally happened. I’ve been reading P.G. Wodehouse for well over a decade now and I’ve loved his work since I first cracked open The Code of the Woosters. I’ve been proselytizing for his cause for just as long, … Continue reading →

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P.G. Wodehouse in India

Posted on December 26, 2012 by

I remember hearing, at some point, that P.G. Wodehouse is quite popular in India. So, it being Boxing Day and all, I Googled the appropriate terms and the right sort of article began popping up. First, a slight NPR piece … Continue reading →

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James Bond Turns Against America

Posted on December 9, 2012 by

I’ve been reading some of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels in preparation for, and celebration of, the release of the super spy’s latest cinematic outing. The new Daniel Craig film, Skyfall, is excellent. The same cannot be said of Fleming’s … Continue reading →

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Philadelphia Breeds Comic Books

Posted on November 16, 2012 by

Last Sunday the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an essay of mine on Locust Moon Comics, our local shop, and their publishing success story: Once Upon A Time Machine, a collection fairy tales reinterpreted through a science fiction lens. I had a lot … Continue reading →

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Orwell on Dickens

Posted on November 14, 2012 by

“If you were rich, for instance, you would have a great power of doing good to others.” – John Rokesmith, Our Mutual Friend In 1940 George Orwell wrote a superb 50+ page essay on Charles Dickens, an author he clearly cared … Continue reading →

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James Wolcott’s Blistering Appreciation of Martin Amis

Posted on October 30, 2012 by

James Wolcott’s review of Lionel Asbo: State of England is an appreciation of Martin Amis as an interesting man and a blistering critique of his latter day novels. Wolcott pulls this tricky task off with his usual aplomb. The review is great … Continue reading →

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Right-Wing Extremism and The Department of Homeland Security (Book)

Posted on October 29, 2012 by

Cross-posted from Keystone Politics, where I’ll be guest-blogging while Jon is getting married.  I just finished reading Daryl Johnson’s Right-Wing Resurgence: How A Domestic Terrorism Threat Is Being Ignored, the memoir of a conservative, Mormon, pro-life, gun-owning, Republican and lifelong law enforcement … Continue reading →

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Bring Up the Man Booker Prizes

Posted on October 16, 2012 by

Hilary Mantel just won the Man Booker Prize, again, this time for Bring Up the Bodies. The novel takes the oft-told story of Thomas Cromwell’s machinations in Henry VIII’s court, and Anne Boleyn’s fall, and trumps all previous tellings. (She … Continue reading →

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Oh, lucky Jim, how I envy him

Posted on October 9, 2012 by

This Sunday I had a little essay published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Kingsley Amis, one of my favorite authors, and the recent American re-release of two of his best novels. His son, Martin Amis, is much better known in … Continue reading →

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