Book reviews and more!
Posts tagged with ‘Social History’
“THE WORST GOOD IDEA ever”—brilliant, cynical history of the USSR’s ill-fated Jewish Autonomous Region.
Grade: A MINUS
WHERE THE JEWS AREN'T: THE SAD AND ABSURD STORY OF BIROBIDZHAN, RUSSIA'S JEWISH AUTONOMOUS REGION
Knopf Doubleday
2016
Tags: A Minus Reviews, History, Judaism, Non-Fiction, Religion and Spirituality, Russia, Social History
HOW “VILLAGE ATHEISTS” built a free-thought movement in the 19th century US. Absolutely engaging history!
Grade: A MINUS
VILLAGE ATHEISTS: HOW AMERICA'S UNBELIEVERS MADE THEIR WAY IN A GODLY NATION
Princeton University Press
2016
Tags: A Minus Reviews, Non-Fiction, Religion and Spirituality, Social History, US History
SUPERB TRUE ADVENTURE tale of the first Western explorer/naturalist to study, document (and hunt) gorillas.
Grade: B PLUS
Tags: Africa, B Plus Reviews, History, History of Science, Social History, Zoology
COMPLETELY FASCINATING HISTORY of farming, production of food and drink in New York City past and present.
Grade: B PLUS
Tags: B Plus Reviews, Food Writing, History, New York City, Non-Fiction, Social History, Wine and Spirits Writing
DOMINICAN-AMERICAN FILMMAKER Raquel Cepeda explores her family history, her Latina identity in charming memoir.
Grade: B PLUS
BIRD OF PARADISE: HOW I BECAME LATINA
Simon and Schuster/Atria
2013
Tags: B Plus Reviews, Dominican Republic, Latino and Latina Writers, Memoirs, New York City, Non-Fiction, Race and Ethnicity, Social and Cultural Commentary, Social History
THE POST-MORTEM ADVENTURES OF famous people’s remains. Witty, macabre, well-researched, entertaining!
Grade: B PLUS
REST IN PIECES: THE CURIOUS FATES OF FAMOUS CORPSES
Simon & Schuster
2013
Tags: B Plus Reviews, History, Non-Fiction, Social History
LOVE LETTER TO New York’s temple of herring, Russ & Daughters, is also a history of Jewish life in the city.
Grade: B PLUS
RUSS & DAUGHTERS: REFLECTIONS AND RECIPES FROM THE HOUSE THAT HERRING BUILT
Schocken Books
2013
Tags: B Plus Reviews, Food Writing, Jewish Interest, Memoirs, New York City, Non-Fiction, Social History
WONDERFULLY ENTERTAINING HISTORY, anthropology, and sociology of tools for cooking and eating. Smart fun!
Grade: A MINUS
CONSIDER THE FORK: A HISTORY OF HOW WE COOK AND EAT
Basic Books
2012
Tags: A Minus Reviews, Anthropology, Food Writing, History, Non-Fiction, Social and Cultural Commentary, Social History, Sociology
ELOQUENT, COMPASSIONATE WORK by a Polish physician and researcher links medicine with the arts and humanities.
Grade: A MINUS
KORE: ON SICKNESS, THE SICK, AND THE SEARCH FOR THE SOUL OF MEDICINE
Counterpoint
2012
Tags: A Minus Reviews, Art History, Health, History of Science, Literary History, Medicine, Non-Fiction, Social and Cultural Commentary, Social History
WITH INSIGHTS FROM new research and recently opened archives, a fresh biography of Rasputin reveals much.
Grade: SOLID B
RASPUTIN: THE UNTOLD STORY
Wiley
2012
Tags: Biography, History, Non-Fiction, Rasputin, Russia, Social History, Solid B Reviews