Publication Date February 25, 2025 The Folly of Realism is a difficult book to read, let alone review. I have such admiration for Alexander Vindman and am so deeply saddened by the recent exposure of the new U.S. administration’s seemingly abrupt turnaround from stalwart defender of Ukraine against the Russian invasion to now being a …
Publication Date June 25, 2024 OK, first off, anyone who knows me knows I LOVE these guys. All three worked in the White House during the Obama administration (Favs and Lovett were speechwriters, and Tommy worked in National Security). They started the wildly successful media company Crooked Media, and now are maybe best known for …
Publication Date August 1, 2023 I have not read Lydia Kiesling’s book Golden State, so that wasn’t what prompted me to want to read Mobility. And it wasn’t a desire to learn about Azerbaijan (doubt I could find it on a map), or interest in the oil and gas industry. Nope, TBH it was learning …
I was a tiny bit apprehensive as I began reading Congresswoman Katie Porter’s book I Swear (subtitled Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan) because I really like and admire her, and didn’t want to be disabused of my positive view. She represents the place where I grew up, which has been referred to as being …
As Washington, D. C. Bureau Chief for Rolling Stone, Andy Kroll is well situated to report on the pervasive craziness that seems to have taken over since 2016. Seth Rich’s name has become synonymous with conspiracy, and his rumored influence among Democratic Party operatives as a tech wizard who just may have been involved in …
Five years ago, I was a huge fan of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, and I was happy to receive a copy of Our Missing Hearts from Penguin Group/Press and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. It is one of my less-favorite genres, a dystopian novel… set in a time following a period of …
Jennifer Rubin is best known today as a columnist for the Washington Post and a political commentator on TV. In the past, she was a labor and employment attorney and well-known conservative essayist. Yes, conservative! She was solidly in the conservative camp right up until DJT became President — and she was NOT a fan! …
Stacey Abrams, well-known for her political work in Georgia and an experienced tax attorney IRL, has written When Justice Sleeps, a legal thriller that is complex, clever, and revelatory of the high-stakes political maneuverings in Washington DC (particularly the Supreme Court). The protagonist of this fast-paced thriller is Avery Keene, a brilliant young law clerk …
Two years ago, I read and reviewed Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House. I admitted I wasn’t very familiar with author Alyssa Mastromonaco prior to 2017, but after Obama left office, I began to hear her on the podcast …
These days, I find myself wavering between obsessively watching/listening to the news (I HAVE to know! What’s going on?) and wallowing in despair, avoiding news. Either way, I truly fear the direction we are headed in, in large part due to the lack of critical thinking and understanding of current events I see everywhere. Back …
There is so much in the news about refugees and the effects of Civil War on children, and I find myself wanting to escape into a good book. After reading Henry Porter’s latest, Firefly, I keep thinking about the sad situation faced by so many, and how grateful I am to have won the geographic …
Sometimes, you just want a rock solid spy story, like John LeCarre or Frederick Forsyth might write…recently, I did, and fortunately (thanks to Penguin Group/ G.P.Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley) I had a copy of Forsyth’s latest novel, The Fox, provided to me in exchange for an honest review. The protagonist is the former chief of …
I was super excited to get a copy of DanPfeifer’s book Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump from Twelve Books and NetGalley in return for my honest review. If you know and love Crooked Media and Pod Save America, as I do, you will love this book. If …
I confess to a high level of ignorance (or a low level of awareness, depending on how I feel that day) about the Middle East. I know things are basically a huge mess there, have been for many years, and seem unlikely to improve (despite Jared Kushner being put in charge of peace in the …
I love fiction that includes some political intrigue/espionage, and if it is a mystery/thriller that’s all the better! Cold War timeframe is great if done well (I loved Jake Tapper’s Hellfire Club, for example). Dan Fesperman’s Safe Houses seemed right up my alley, especially as it was praised by Lee Child as being “One of …
How could you pass up a book subtitled “True Stories I Waited Until My Parents Died to Tell”?? I couldn’t. I wasn’t familiar with Roy Sekoff, although I’m a fan of The Huffington Post (he was the founding editor). Plus, there’s this promotional blurb: “If David Sedaris, Chelsea Handler, Larry David, and Caitlin Moran had the …
Jake Tapper, CNN’s chief Washington Correspondent, has written The Hellfire Club, a political thriller set in Washington, D.C. the 1950s.The main character, Charlie Marder, has been appointed (thanks to his father’s political connections) to fill out the term of a Congressman representing a district in New York. Once there, Charlie dives in to his …
I admit I wasn’t very familiar with Alyssa Mastromonaco prior to 2017. After Obama left office, I began to hear her on one of my two favorite podcasts, Pod Save America, from time to time. I loved hearing her stories about her time working for Barack Obama and her commentary about the current state of …
My book club selected Amy Bloom’s White Houses, and I was looking forward to reading it. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. I generally enjoy historical fiction, I am not bothered by “faction,” and I truly enjoy a good roman a clef. So why did …
I can’t recommend this book highly enough. I love Matt Taibbi, so I admit to a preconceived bias toward this book. I went in wanting it to be good. And I thought I was familiar with the sad story of Freddie Gray, the African-American man shot as he was selling “loosies” (single cigarettes) in New …