Claire Harman. Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016 As reviewed by Ted Odenwald In 1857, British novelist Elizabeth Gaskell wrote a masterful biography of her friend, Charlotte Bronte, who had died two years earlier at the age of 39. As new materials were discovered over […]
Louisa Thomas. Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams. New York: Penguin Press, 2016 As reviewed by Ted Odenwald The history of Louisa Catherine Adams has been hidden in the shadows of the lives of her husband, John Quincy Adams, and her in-laws, John and Abigail Adams. Author Louise Thomas […]
Matthew Desmond. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. New York: Crown Publishers, 2016. As reviewed by Ted Odenwald Through his gripping, first-hand accounts of the heart-rending struggles of several families, sociologist Matthew Desmond exposes a monstrous process that engulfs millions of Americans in a downward spiral of poverty. […]
Bob Woodward. The Last of the President’s Men. New York:Simon & Schuster, 2015. As Reviewed by Ted Odenwald Alexander Butterfield, former White House aide in the Nixon administration, recently told investigative writer, Bob Woodward, that there was more to the Nixon story than was generally known. Butterfield’s revelations are disturbing […]
Charlotte Good. Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her Daughter Mary Shelley. New York: Random House, 2015. As reviewed by Ted Odenwald Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Wollstonecraft) and her daughter, Mary Godwin Shelley (Shelley), never knew each other, the mother having died of “childbed fever” when the infant […]
Adam Sisman. John Le Carre: The Biography New York: Harper Collins, 2015. As reviewed by Ted Odenwald David Cornwell, more widely recognized by his pseudonym, John Le Carre, is a writer, the twists and turns of whose life are as complex as his plots. According to biographer, Adam Sisman, many […]
