I saw a recent interview with author Alex Joske and was immediately struck by his professional demeanor and his youth. Turns out he was the youngest-ever analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and is known for meticulous Chinese-language investigations grounded in authoritative and independently verifiable sources. In other words, he does what he does…
Book Review: ‘Spies and Lies: How China’s Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World’: Unmasking China’s secret intent
November 10, 2022
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"Spies and Lies"Alex JoskeArts & CulturebooksBrightChina’s Ministry of State SecurityRep. Mike Gallagher (WI)
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Book Review: ‘Where Next?: Western Civilization at the Crossroads’
November 5, 2022
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"Where Next? Western Civilization at the Crossroads"Arts & CulturebooksBrightEncounter BooksRoger KimballSir Edward Gibbon
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Roger Kimball, the editor and publisher of The New Criterion, has assembled a collection of essays on the troubles facing Western civilization. Perhaps “troubles” is too weak of a word, but it seems fitting in regards to the title of the book: “Where Next? Western Civilization at the Crossroads.” After reading The New Criterion’s 10…
Raymond Chandler: Master of Mystery
The poet W.H. Auden shunned detective stories because, he wrote, “Once I begin one, I cannot work or sleep till I have finished it.” Auden was not alone; 20th century readers couldn’t get enough of them, and authors struggled to keep up. Erle Stanley Gardner published over 80 novels featuring his lawyer-sleuth Perry Mason, while…
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Nov. 4–10
This week, we feature novels ranging in locale from Hawaii to Mount Everest and a revelatory history of the Third Reich’s abuse of pharmaceuticals. Fiction Thrills at Everest’s Peak ‘Abominable: A Novel’ By Dan Simmons Great stories need three things: a solid plot, memorable characters, and an engrossing setting. Simmons brings all three together in…
Book Review: ‘Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence’
Underdogs in any situation feel they can affect their own destiny. They actively take responsibility for their actions and believe they have the power to change their tomorrows. Victims, on the other hand, see themselves as having no control; they are at the mercy of others. They look outside of themselves for help. In his…
Overcoming Fear: Laura E. Richards’s Short Story, ‘The Shed Chamber’
Fear can paralyze us and prevent us from taking action and courage can overcome its paralyzing force. In her short story, “The Shed Chamber,” Laura E. Richards shows us courage in action and how one young woman overcame her fear. She tells the story of young Nora who leaves home to work for a family…
Book Review: ‘Our Missing Hearts: A Novel’: the Power of Words in a Search for Love
I’m old enough to remember the days when, to find a book at the local library, you would be referred to the card catalog. Often housed in vintage wooden cases and jammed tightly together, these typed—and sometimes handwritten—cards carried series of numbers, titles, authors, and brief descriptions of shelved books to be found in the…
‘I Must Go Down to the Seas Again’: The Poet Laureate of Saltwater and Sail
Throughout his long life, John Edward Masefield (1878-1967) wrote a shelf full of novels, stories, essays, plays, and histories. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography acclaimed his “Gallipoli” as “one of the finest accounts we have of modern warfare,” and two of his books for the younger set, “The Midnight Folk” and “The Box of…
Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Oct. 28–Nov. 3
This week, we feature two splendid novels about boys’ friendships: one set in tumultuous Afghanistan and the other in Brooklyn, New York, in the ’40s. Fiction A Tale of Friendship and Redemption ‘The Kite Runner’ By Khaled Hosseini Originally published in 2003, this emotionally deep novel immerses readers in a country in chaos and a…
Book Review: ‘The Harvest of War: Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis: The Epic Battles that Saved Democracy’
In his latest work, “The Harvest of War: Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis: The Epic Battles That Saved Democracy,” ancient Greek historian Stephen P. Kershaw has produced a thorough study of the famous fifth century B.C. battles between the city-states (“poleis”) of ancient Greece (or Hellas) and the Persian Empire: the ground battles of Marathon, Thermopylae,…
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