RaveThe Wall Street JournalWhat...makes their book compelling, besides their extensive experience as journalists, is the depth of their research coupled with a firm conviction that quarantine, a mighty yet dangerous weapon, must be used \'more wisely in the future\' ... One of the most fascinating chapters in this enlightening book recounts the tireless efforts of the Englishman John Howard, an eccentric social reformer of ample wealth and unfailing courage, whose achievements on behalf of incarcerated criminals and debtors gave way by his late 50s to a newfound concern over conditions within quarantine facilities ... The informality of the authors’ engaging prose, bearing few scholarly trappings save for the source notes, more aptly resembles that of an article in the New Yorker, where, in fact, portions of the book first appeared. Absorbing chapters, for instance, are devoted to modern containment measures and research centers designed with future perils in mind ... If not for the book’s arresting insights, undergirded by archival research and interviews with historians, epidemiologists and public health experts, Until Proven Safe might resemble at times a travelogue of misery ... Still and all, this is an exceptionally powerful book.
Stephen Taylor
PositiveThe Wall Street JournalThis is not a book for naval buffs interested in grand strategy, tactics or the majestic ships of the Royal Navy, much less their captains. Besides muster rolls, ships’ logs and court-martial proceedings, Mr. Taylor relies heavily upon seamen’s memoirs, of which some dozen afford full-length accounts, augmented by shorter written recollections. No other book resurrects the wooden world of Jack Tar in such captivating and voluminous detail ... Save for the odd cliché, Mr. Taylor excels in recounting the hardships endured by the typical seaman: unrelenting disease, punishing labor, natural catastrophes and fatal accidents, not to mention the hazards of battle.
Peter Moore
PositiveThe Wall Street JournalIn writing the biography of an insentient object, Peter Moore, author of Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World, set himself a challenging task. But in the early chapters Mr. Moore, whose last book chronicled Britain’s early atmospheric scientists, draws the reader in with lively prose ... While Mr. Moore has written an engaging, well-researched narrative, little else of substance is fresh, including the extravagant claim of its subtitle—that Endeavour \'changed the world.\'
Andrew Lawler
RaveThe Wall Street JournalAugust 1590, John White...found Roanoke deserted and its makeshift houses dismantled. The only clues were letters carved into a tree \'CRO\' and a post with an inscription in capital letters \'CROATOAN\'. Missing was the emblem of a cross, \'a secret token\' that the colonists had earlier agreed to leave, if necessary, as a sign of distress ... The Secret Token spanning more than 400 years, offers the most authoritative account of the Lost Colony to date, if not the last word.
